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LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


SPF^IJVeFIEbD,   ILL. 


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MARCH-APRIL,  1903. 


Zhe  Neuu-ljorh  Isfeois-Letter. 


ANNALS  OF  ILLINOIS. 
1673. — Louis  Joiiel  and  Jacques  .Marquette 
descend  the  Mississippi  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Arkansas,  and  on  their  return  descend  the 
Illinois  and  reach  Lake  Michigan  via  Des- 
plaines  and  Chicago  rivers. 

1G75. — Marquette  descends  the  Illinois 
river  nearly  to  Utica  on  a  mission  to  the  In- 
dian tribes. 

1080. — La  Salle,  Tonti  and  Hennepin,  with 
a  party  of  33.  descend  the  Kankakee  and 
Illinois  rivers,  pass  through  Peoria  Lake 
Jan.  3.  and  erect  Fort  Crevecoeur  on  the 
east  shore  of  the  outlet. 

1682.— La  Salle  and  Tonti  descend  the  Il- 
linois to  the  Mississippi,  and  the  latter  to 
its  mouth.  Returning,  they  build  Fort  St. 
Louis  on  Starved  Rock,  near  the  site  of 
Utica. 

1690. — The  Illinois  mission  occupies  site 
of  Kaskaskia. 

1719. — Philip  Renault,  with  200  mechanics 
and  laborers  and  500  negro  slaves,  founds 
St.  Philips,  a  few  miles  above  Kaskaskia. 

1821. — Jesuits  establish  a  monastery  and 
college  at  Kaskaskia. 

1756. — Fort  Massac  (or  Massacre)  is  es- 
tablished and  garrisoned  by  the  French, 
about  40  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio. 
1765. — The  French  possessions  in  North 
America  having  passed  to  England  by  the 
treaty  of  1763,  the  British  occupy  Fort 
Chartres,  October  10. 

1768. — Colonel  Wilkins  assumes,  by  proc- 
lamation from  Fort  Chartres,  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Illinois  country,  and  appoints 
seven  magistrates. 

1772. — A  freshet  destroying  a  part  of  Fort 
Chartres,  the  seat  of  government  is  fixed 
at  Fort  Gage,  opposite  Kaskaskia. 

1778. — Colonel  George  Rogers  Clark,  act- 
ing under  authority  of  Patrick  Henry,  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia,  reaches  Kaskaskia  with 
a  military  expedition  in  July.  In  October 
the  territory  is  made  a  county  by  the  Leg- 
islature of  Virginia. 

1777. — Temporary  government  proclaimed 
from  Kaskaskia  by  Col.  John  Todd. 

1784. — Illinois  country  ceded  to  the  United 
States  by  Virginia. 

1787. — The  Northwestern  Territory,  in- 
cluding  Illinois,  organized   by   Congress. 

1800. — Illinois  set  off  from  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory. 

1803. — By  treaties  made  at  Vincennes  the 
Indians  cede  large  tracts  of  land  in  Southern 


Illinois.  Fort  Eearborn  built  at  Chicago  on 
the  site  of  Michigan  Avenue  and  River 
Street. 

1804. — First  permanent  settler  at  Chicago. 
Territory  between  the  Illinois  and  Wiscon- 
sin rivers  ceded  by  the  Indians. 

1809. — Illinois  made  a  Territory  with  seat 
of  government  at  Kaskaskia.  Ninian  Ed- 
wards appointed  Governor  by  President 
Madison. 

1810. — Mail  route  established  from  Vin- 
cennes to  St.  Louis,  via  Kaskaskia  and  Ca- 
hokia. 

1812. — Fort  Dearborn  evacuated  by  order 
of  General  Hull;  fort  burned  and  garrison 
massacred  by  Indians. 

1816. — Bank  of  Illinois  incorporated. 
1818.— Enabling   Act   for   State   of   Illinois 
approved  April  18. 

1818. — Convention  meets  at  Kaskaskia, 
and  frames  a  constitution  (August) ;  Illinois 
admitted  to  the  Union  in  December. 

1819.— John  Kelly  and  famJIy,  from  North 
Carolina,  first  white  settlers  at  Springfield. 
1820. — Seat    of    government    removed    to 
Vandalia. 

1830. — Father  of  Abraham  Lincoln  re- 
moves from  Indiana  and  settles  in  Macon 
County. 

1832. — Black  Hawk  invades  Illinois  with 
150  warriors  and  attacks  unsuccessfully,  at 
Apple  River  Fort  (June  6)  and  Kellogg's 
Grove  (June  26).     A.  Lincoln  a  captain. 

1834. — Abraham  Lincoln  elected  to  Legis- 
lature (re-elected  in  1836,  1838  and  1840). 

1837. — Chicago  gets  city  charter.  Spring- 
field made  seat  of  State  government;  cor- 
ner-stone of  State  capitol  laid. 

1846. — Mormon  exodus — 2,000  cross  the 
Mississippi  on  the  ice.  Abraham  Lincoln 
elected   to   Congress. 

1839. — Legislature  first  meets  in  Spring- 
field —  Assembly  in  First  "  Presbyterian 
Church,  Senate  in  First  Methodist,  and  Su- 
perior Court  in  Episcopal. 

1840. — Mormons  locate  in  Hancock  County 
and  found  Nauvoo. 

1853. — Illinois  Wesleyan  University  char- 
tered and  opened  at  Bloomington. 

1854.— N.  W.  Edwards  appointed  State 
Superintendent   of   common   schools. 

1855. — System  of  free  schools  authorized. 
1855. — Northwestern  University  opened  at 
Evanston. 

1857. — Illinois  State  University  opened  at 
Normal. 

(Continued  on  page  3  of  cover.) 


Z^/ZVCGZ  ^J      AOG/^ 


Vol  36. 


NEW  YORK,   MARCH-APRIL,   1903. 


No.   2. 


COPrRIGHT,    1903,    BY  THE   NEW-YORK  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY. 


SPRINGFIELD    AS    IT    IS. 

SPRINGFIELD,  the  capital  of  Illinois, 
is  a  city  about  four  miles  in  length 
and  three  miles  in  width.  Shade  trees 
and  lawns  give  the  residential  part  of  the 
city  a  park-like  appearance.  The  public 
buildings  are  a  credit  to  the  city,  the  State 
House  being  unusually  handsome  and  of 
the  modern  style  of  architecture,  the  total 
cost  being  over  $4,000',000.  Among  the  other 
buildings  may  be  mentioned  the  United 
States  Court  House,  the  Post-Office,  the 
Executive  Mansion,  the  State  Arsenal,  the 
City  Hall  and  the  Public  Library  building. 

Monuments,  Churches,  Schools,  &c. 

Chief  among  the  historical  attractions 
are  the  Lincoln  National  Monument,  and 
the  old  Lincoln  residence  which  is  owned 
by  the  State.  Churches  and  schools  are  nu- 
merous, modern  in  style  and  appointments. 
There  are  twenty-one  graded  schools  and 
a  Central  High  School,  completed  a  few 
years  ago  at  a  cost  of  over  $100,000.  In 
addition  to  these  there  are  several  private 
institutes,  convents  and  parochial  schools. 
There  are  four  hospitals  and  several  other 
charitable  institutions.  Its  Free  Public 
Library  is  one  of  the  best  of  its  size  in 
the  country,  having  about  50,000  volumes. 
There  are  also  the  Illinois  State  Historical 
Library  of  4,000  volumes,  the  Supreme 
Court  Library  of  20,000  volumes,  and  the 
Illinois  State  Library  of  60,000  volumes. 

Banks  and   Manufactures. 

The  city  has  iive  national  banks,  one  state 
bank,  and  one  trust  company,  with  a  com- 


bined capital  of  nearly  $2,000,000.  There 
are  several  hundred  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments in  the  city,  which  give  employ- 
ment to  several  thousand  people.  The  prin- 
cipal industries  are  the  building  trades, 
printing  and  publishing,  foundry  and  ma- 
chine shops,  textiles,  a  watch  factory,  etc. 
The  city  is  well  lighted  by  electricity,  has 
excellent  water-works  and  a  good  system 
of  sewerage.  The  population  in  1900  was 
34,159.  It  was  settled  in  1819,  and  incorpo- 
rated as  a  city  in  1840. 

The  permanent  camp  of  the  National 
Guard  and  the  grounds  of  the  State  Fair 
are   located   here. 


THE    LINCOLN    MONUMENT. 

THE  Lincoln  monument  was  erected  by 
the  Lincoln  Monument  Association  in 
1869-74.  The  granite  work  cost  $136,- 
550,  and  the  bronze  work  $70,000.  It  was 
dedicated  October  15,  1874.  The  dimensions 
are:  base,  72 1/^  feet  square;  including  the 
extension  of  catacomb  and  Memorial  Hall, 
1191/2  feet;  height  of  terrace,  15  feet  10 
inches ;  pedestals  for  statuary  groups,  28  feet 
4  inches;  pedestal  for  Lincoln's  statue, 
351/^  feet;  height  of  obelisk  above  the 
ground,  98  feet  41/2  inches.  The  four  bronze 
groups  represent  infantry,  cavalry,  artillery 
and   the  navy. 

Six  crypts  have  been  built  in  the  cata- 
comb for  the  burial  of  members  of  the 
Lincoln  family,  and  five  persons  have  been 
buried  therein — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln,  their 
two  sons,  Willie  and  "Tad,"  and  a  grandson, 
Abraham  Lincoln.  Within  Memorial  Hall 
are  deposited  articles  used  by  Mr.  Lincoln 


Che  Neuj-lJorh  Neujs-Letter. 


Illinois  State  Capitol. 


Photo,  by  Guy  R.  Matiiis. 


or  associated  with  his  memory.  A  few  years 
ago  the  settling  of  a  part  of  the  foundation 
rendered  a  rebuilding  of  the  monument 
necessary,  and  this  was  done  by  authority 
of  the  Legislature,  $100,(j'00  being  appro- 
priated for  that  purpose. 


Promptest  and  Fullest  Reports. 

THE  New- York  Life  Insurance 
Company  publishes  an  advertise- 
ment in  which  it  says  it  is  trying 
to  do  five  thing's,  one  of  which  is,  "To 
issue  ihe  promptest  and  fullest  reports." 

1.  This  year  the  Company's  annual 
report  (for  1902)  was  filed  at  Albany  on 
January  3,  and  on  the  same  day  the 
Company  gave  to  the  newspapers 
printed  copies  of  the  complete  report, 
just  as  furnished  to  the  Insurance  De- 
partment, except  the  policy  registers  for 
computing  the  reserve.  A  few  days 
later  the  Detailed  Statement  in  pam- 
phlet form  was  ready  for  distribution 
to  all  who  would  ask  for  it. 


This  pamphlet  contains  the  balance 
sheet  of  the  Company;  the  income  and 
disbursements;  the  insurance  account; 
changes  in  important  items  in  eleven 
years,  1892-1903;  schedule  of  bonds 
owned  (the  Company  owns  no  stocks) 
amounting  to  over  225  million  dollars, 
with  rate  of  interest  and  valuation; 
schedules  of  real  estate  owned  and  upon 
which  mortgages  are  held  by  the  Com- 
pany, giving  location  and  valuation; 
statement  of  business  done  in  New  York 
State;  statement  of  reasons  why  one 
should  insure  in  the  Company;  .state- 
ment of  the  countries  in  which  the  Com- 
pany does  business;  extracts  from  ad- 
dresses of  the  President  of  the  Company 
concerning  the  policy  of  the  present 
management,  and  from  the  Annual  ]\Ies- 
sage  of  the  Presideut  of  the  United 
States  on  the  value  of  Publicity. 

If  any  other  company  gives  so  prompt 
and  full  reports  they  have  thus  far  es- 
caped notice. 

Ask  for  the  Detailed  Statement  of  the 
New-York  Life. 


iUhe  Isfeui-ljorh  Neuus-Letter. 


TALKING    IN   THEIR    SLEEP. 

"You    think    I'm    dead," 

The  apple  tree  said, 
"Because  I  have  never  a  leaf  to  show; 

Because  I  stcop. 

And    my    branches    droop, 
And   the  dull,  gray   mosses  over  me  grow! 
But  I'm  alive   in  the  trunk  and  shoot; 

The  buds  of  next  May 

I    fold   away — 
But  I  pity  the  withered  grass  at  my  root." 

"You  think   I'm  dead," 

The  quick  grass  said, 
"Because  I  have  parted  with  stem  and  blade! 

But  under  the  ground 

I  am  safe  and  sound. 
"With  the  snow's  thick  blanket  over  me  laid; 
I'm  all  alive  and   ready  to  shoot 

Should    the    spring    of    the    year 

Come    dancing    here — 
But   I    pity    the   flowers    without    branch   or 
root." 

"You    think    I'm    dead," 

A  soft  voice  said. 
"Because  not  a  branch  or  root  I  own! 

I  never  have  died. 

But    close    I    hide 
In  a  plumy  seed  that  the  wind  has  shown; 
Patiently    I    wait    through    the    long    winter 
hours : 

You  will  see  me  again — 

I   shall   laugh   at   you   then, 
Out  of  the  eyes  of  a  hundred  flowers." 

—Edith  Th(»nni<,  in  St.  Nicholas. 


Reaching  the  People. 

THE  New- York  Lip^e  Insurance 
Company  publishes  an  advertise- 
ment in  which  it  says  it  is  trying 
to  do  five  things,  one  of  which  is  ''To 
have  the  best,  and  tJie  best  organized 
agency  force."  It  is  through  its  agents 
that  the  Company  reaches  the  public, 
secures  its  business  and  pays  its  claims. 
Agents  are  its  arms,  its  hands,  and  often 
its  voice.  Here  are  .some  of  the  methods 
by  Avhich  it  endeavors  to  secure  the  best 
medium  for  reaching  the  people. 

1.  It  has  established  Branch  Offices 
in  every  large  city  of  tlie  country,  and 
in  many  cities  more  than  one.  These 
offices  are  under  the  direct  and  absolute 
control  of  the  Company.  They  are  man- 
aged by  trained  men.  They  are  the 
Company  brought  to  your  doors.  Here 
policy-hold(M"s  nmy  pay  their  premiums, 
make  application  for  loans  or  for  any 
information  concerning  their  insurance, 
and  here  claims  of  all  kinds  are  paid. 
That  is  the  policy-holders'  side  of  it. 


This  is  the  agents'  side  of  it.  An 
agent  gets  a  contract  direct  with  the 
Company,  but  reports  to  the  Branch  Of- 
fice in  the  territory  where  he  works. 
Here  he  is  brought  into  personal  contact 
with  expei'ienced  life  insurance  men 
who  are  ready  to  give  him  advice,  direc- 
tion and  assistance.  His  work  is  exam- 
ined for  errors  l)efore  it  is  sent  on  to  the 
Company.  He  is  relieved  of  the  burden 
of  correspondence  with  the  Company, 
and  can  devote  all  his  time  and  energy 
to  the  work  of  soliciting. 

The  Company  seeks  the  best  men  it 
can  get  for  agents.  It  pi-efers  men  of 
reputation  in  the  district  in  which  they 
woi'k.  It  delights  in  men  who  can  work 
in  the  same  place  yeai'  after  year;  men 
whom  their  neighbors  tru.st;  men  Avho 
look  upon  their  work  as  a  profession 
which  they  are  bound  to  honor.  It  is 
attracting  to  its  ranks  more  and  more 
college  men  every  year. 

The  Company's  agents  are  forbidden, 
under  pain  of  dismissal,  to  allow  any 
rebate  of  premium  to  an  applicant,  be- 
cause (1)  it  is  contrary  to  law  in  many 
States;  (2)  it  introduces  inequality 
among  members  of  a  purely  mutual 
Company;  (3)  it  robs  the  agent  of  his 
proper  compemsation  and  makes  addi- 
tional compensation  necessary,  thus  in- 
creasing the  expenses  of  the  Company; 
(•4)  it  brings  to  the  Company  a  class  of 
policy-holders  Avho  do  not  keep  up  their 
insurance  and  whose  patronage  is  a  det- 
riment to  the  Company. 

The  compensation  of  agents  is  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  reward  men  who  work  reg- 
ularly, and  whose  business  remains  on 
the  Company's  books  during  a  fixed 
period.  The  man  who  works. etl'ectively, 
faithfully  and  continuously  receives  an 
increasing  income  from  the  same  amount 
of  business,  with  the  ulti unite  prospect 
of  a  fixed  income  for  life. 

The  Company  has  no  room  for  lag- 
gards or  idlers,  none  for  those  who  re- 
bate or  misrepresent,  none  for  any  ex- 
cept those  who  are  active,  honest,  en- 
tiuisiastic  and  loyal.  Isn't  that  the 
kind  of  men  you  like  to  have  repre- 
sent you  in  youi"  business?  Isn't  that 
the  kind  of  men  who  build  up  and 
maintain  every  successful  business  en- 
terprise? 


iThe  Keuu-yorh  Isfeuas-Letter. 


Financial  Notes. 

THE  United  States  Treasury  now 
holds  over  six  hundred  million 
dollars  in  yold — the  larf;-est  accu- 
mulation of  gold  ever  held  hy  any  gov- 
ernment. The  total  gold  in  the  country 
on  December  1,  1902,  was  estimated  by 
the  Director  of  the  ^Nlint  to  be  $1,241,- 
480,498,  a  gain  of  about  .$67,000,000 
daring  the  year.  The  world's  output 
of  gold  for  the  year  is  estimated  at 
$290,000,000.  an  increase  of  about  $27.- 
000,000  over  1901.  The  Director  esti- 
mates that  the  output  of  1903  will  ex- 
ceed $307,000,000,  the  record  of  1899, 
which  is  the  banner  year  thus  far.  The 
new  paid-for  business  of  the  New- York 
Life  Insurance  Company  in  1902,  in- 
cluding old  policies  revived,  was  $305,- 
695,229,  which  is  high-water  mark  in 
life  insurance  historv. 


The  Director  of  the  Mint  estimates 
the  amount  of  gold  in  use  as  money 
among  all  nations  to  be  $5.174,400,006, 
an  increase  of  about  one  thousand  mil- 
lions— or  twenty-five  per  cent. — during 
the  last  six  years.  The  world's  stock  of 
silver  money  is  estimated  at  $3,847,500.- 
000.  The  amount  of  Life  Insurance  in 
force  in  Ar^erican  Life  companies  is 
about  eight  thousand  millions— more 
than  all  the  gold  in  the  world,  and  nearly 
as  much  as  all  the  gold  and  silver.  Dur- 
ing the  last  six  years  the  amount  insured 
in  American  companies  has  increased 
about  three  thousand  millions,  or  sixty 
per  cent.  The  New- York  Life  holds 
nearly  one-fifth  of  the  whole  amount, 
and  its  increase  in  the  last  six  years  has 
been  over  seven  hundred  millions,  or 
about  eighty-eight  per  cent. 


According  to  the  estimate  of  Mr.  0.  P. 
Austin,  Chief  of  the  Treasury  Bureau 
of  Statistics,  the  total  exports  of  mer- 
chandise from  the  United  States  in  1902 
were  $1,340,000,000.  These  figures  are 
the  largest  in  the  history  of  the  country 
except  for  the  years  1900  and  1901, 
when  they  were  1.478  and  1.465  millions, 
respectively.  The  falling  oft"  last  year 
w^as  chiefly  in  corn,  wheat,  oats  and  pro- 
visions. The  great  shortage  in  the  corn 
crop  of  1900  reduced  exports  not  only  of 


corn  but  also  of  commodities  allied  to  it. 
The  largest  figures  which  the  country's 
exports  ever  attained  are  not  equal  to 
the  amount  of  insurance  in  force  in  the 
New-York  Life  on  January  1,  1903, 
namely,  $1,553,628,026.  In  other  words, 
the  Company's  risks  in  force  are  greater 
than  a  year's  surplus  production  of  the 
whole  country. 

Exports  of  cotton  from  the  United 
States  during  the  fiscal  year  1902  were 
.$292,000,000.  Nearly  one-half  of  the 
cotton  exported  goes  to  British  markets, 
Germany  taking  the  next  largest  part, 
with  France  third  in  the  list  of  consum- 
ers. Cotton  is  still  king  in  the  sense  that 
it  brings  more  money  into  the  country 
than  any  other  one  commodity.  Next 
to  cotton  comes  wheat,  with  an  export 
value  of  $113,000,000  in  1902.  Here 
again  Great  Britain  is  our  largest  cus- 
tomer, taking  nearly  half  of  our  surplus. 
Next  to  wheat  comes  corn  when  the  crop 
is  large,  as  witness  $83,000,000  worth  in 

1901.  with  wheat  flour  a  good  third,  the 
figures  for  1902  being  $65,700,000.  Ex- 
ports of  wheat  and  flour  are  of  more 
value  than  those  of  cotton.  To  say  that 
the  United  States  feeds  and  clothes  the 
world  would  be  to  overstate  the  matter; 
nevertheless  Ave  do  a  large  business  in 
that  line.  To  say  that  the  New-York 
Life  insures  the  world  would  be  also  an 
exaggeration ;  but  it  does  do  business  in 
every  civilized  countr}^  and  its  new  bus- 
iness in  1902  was  more  than  the  value  of 
cotton  exported. 

During  the  j^ear  ending  October  31, 

1902,  there  were  chartered  in  the  United 
States  470  National  Banks,  with  $31,- 
130,000  capital.  This  was  an  average  of 
about  one  and  one-half  banks  for  every 
day,  Sundays  and  holidays  excepted. 
During  the  305  working  days  of  1902, 
the  New- York  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany's new  paid-for  business,  including 
old  policies  revived  and  additions  by 
dividends,  was  .$305,695,229,  an  average 
of  over  a  million  a  day.  It  added  to  its 
assets  for  the  payment  of  claims  and 
dividends  as  they  mature,  the  sum  of 
$32,097,514,  or  nearly  a  million  dollars 
more  than  the  capital  of  the  470  banks 
referred  to. 


Hay  School. 


Teachers'  Training  School,. 


Lincoln  Schooi,. 


High  School. 

A 

m  ■ 

irTiri'^ 

r'V /f  1 '  Sl^^^^H 

r  i      -^ —  ;^^^^^^^H 

MrC'LF.KXANli   SCMCKII, 


P.i:i  riK   STfAKT   Insi  I  ITTK.. 


Cm 

Paro(  HiAL  School  St.  Pkter  and  St.  Paul. 


St.  Agatha's  School.' 


*01d  Edwards  Homestead,  in  which  Lincoln  was  married. 


iThe  ]sfeuj-l[orh  ZMeuus-Letter. 


Lincoln  Homestead. 


Photo,  by  Guy  R.  Mathis. 


MR.    LINCOLN    IN    SPRINGFIELD. 


M 


R.  LINCOLN  removed  from  New 
Salem  to  Springfield  in  April,  1837. 
He  had  previously  been  farmer,  flat- 
boatman,  soldier,  merchant,  surveyor,  post- 
master and  law  student.  He  had  been  twice 
elected  to  the  Legislature,  and  one  of  his 
colleagues,  Major  John  T.  Stuart,  who  had 
encouraged  him  to  study  law,  now  took  him 
into  partnership.  The  sessions  of  the  Leg- 
islature continued  to  be  held  at  Vandalia 
until  1839,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  continued  a 
member  until  1842. 

During  these  five  years  occurred  those 
early  love  affairs  which  stirred  his  nature 
so  deeply  that  his  health  was  at  one  time 
seriously  affected.  His  first  love  was  Miss 
Anne  Rutledge,  a  young  woman  of  tem- 
perament and  disposition  very  much  like 
his  own,  but  who  died  before  the  engage- 
ment was  consummated.  About  a  year 
later,  when  a  neighbor  (Mrs.  Able)  was 
starting  for  Kentucky,  she  remarked  to  Mr. 
Lincoln  that  she  would  bring  her  sister 
back  with  her  if  he  would  become  her  (Mrs. 
Abie's)    brother-in-law.      Mr.    Lincoln    knew 


the  sister — Miss  Mary  Owens — and  he 
agreed  to  the  proposition.  Miss  Owens 
returned  with  her  sister,  and  Mr.  Lincoln 
held  himself  bound  to  pay  court  to  her  and 
to  make  good  his  promise  if  she  accepted 
him.  The  burden  of  his  letters  to  her — some 
of  which  have  been  preserved — is  first,  a 
desire  to  do  right  in  the  matter;  second, 
a  fear  that  he  would  not  make  her  happy. 
She  seems  to  have  declined  his  offer,  and 
he  seems  then  to  have  concluded  that  he 
cared  more  for  her  than  he  thought. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  meanwhile  becoming 
well  known  as  a  lawyer  and  a  politician. 
In  the  Legislature,  where  his  party  was  in 
the  minority,  he  twice  received  the  minority 
vote  for  speaker  of  the  Assembly,  He  took 
an  active  part  in  the  Harrison  campaign 
of  1840,  and  was  an  elector  on  the  Whig 
ticket.  About  this  time  he  became  engaged 
to  Miss  Mary  Todd,  whose  sister  was  the 
wife  of  Mr.  Ninian  W.  Edwards,  a  prominent 
Whig  from  Sangamon  County.  But  the 
course  of  true  love  did  not  run  smooth; 
there  was  an  estrangement,  and  Mr.  Lincoln 
declared  in  a  letter  to  his  law  partner  that 
he   was   "the   most   miserable   man   living." 


8 


Che  Isfeui-ljorh  ]\(ews~Letter. 


He  felt  unable  to  attend  the  session  of  the 
Legislature  in  January,  1841,  and  after  its 
close,  his  friend,  Joshua  F.  Speed,  persuaded 
him  to  go  with  him  to  Kentucky.  While  in 
Kentucky  Mr.  Speed  fell  in  love,  and  seems 
to  have  passed  through  a  period  of  hesita- 
tion and  doubt  before  deciding  to  marry. 
When  he  was  finally  married  and  wrote 
Lincoln  that  he  was  happy,  Mr.  Lincoln 
replied:  "The  short  space  it  took  me  to 
read  your  last  letter  gave  me  more  real 
pleasure  than  the  total  sum  of  all  I  have 
enjoyed  since  the  fatal  first  of  January.  1841. 
Since  then  it  seems  to  me  I  should  have 
been  entirely  happy,  but  for  the  never- 
absent  idea  that  there  is  one  still  unhappy 
whom  I  have  contributed  to  make  so.  That 
still  kills  my  soul.  I  cannot  but  reproach 
myself  for  even  wishing  to  be  happy  while 
she  is  otherwise." 

Almost  a  Duel. 

During  the  summer  of  1842  some  of  the 
young  women  of  Springfield  wrote  for  the 
"Sangamo  Journal"  a  series  of  humorous 
letters,  using  the  local  political  situation 
as  a  theme,  and  making  Auditor  (afterward 
General)  Shields  the  butt  of  their  jokes. 
In  order  to  make  their  political  jibes  more 
effective  they  consulted  Mr.  Lincoln,  and 
he  wrote  the  first  article  of  the  series.  This 
led  to  a  challenge  from  Shields  and  its 
acceptance  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  after  an  offer  by 
the  latter  of  an  explanation  that  ought  to 
have  ended  the  matter.  Mr.  Lincoln  in- 
jected a  touch  of  grim  humor  into  the 
situation  by  choosing  broadswords  as 
weapons,  and  for  the  field  a  space  ten  feet 
long  and  twice  the  length  of  the  swords  in 
width,  with  a  plank  set  on  edge  in  the 
ground  through  the  middle.  The  com- 
batants were  not  to  pass  over  the  plank  nor 
over  the  line.  After  reaching  the  ground 
selected,  a  peaceful  adjustment  was  made. 
A  still  happier  outcome  was  that  these 
occurrences  brought  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Miss 
Todd  together  in  friendly  interviews,  and 
that  they  were  married  on  November  4,  1842. 

Elected  to  Congress. 

In  1841  the  partnership  between  Mr.  Lin- 
coln and  Major  Stuart  was  dissolved  and  a 
rew  one  was  formed  with  Judge  Stephen 
T.  Logan.  Stuart  served  two  terms  in  Con- 
gress, retiring  in  1843.  and  Mr.  Lincoln 
became    an    aspirant    for    the    nomination, 


which  he  secured  and  was  elected  three 
years  later.  During  his  two  years'  service 
he  made  three  set  speeches,  one  to  show  that 
the  Mexican  war  had  been  unnecessarily 
and  unconstitutionally  begun  by  President 
Polk;  one  on  the  subject  of  internal  im- 
l)rovements,  and  a  third  on  the  political 
situation,  favoring  the  election  of  General 
Taylor  to  the  Presidency. 

During  the  second  session  of  this  Con- 
gress he  framed  and  introduced  a  bill  pro- 
viding for  compensated  emancipation  of 
slaves  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  Al- 
though the  bill  was  approved  by  leading 
citizens  of  Washington,  including  the  con- 
servative Mayor,  and  by  Mr.  Giddings,  the 
radical  anti-slavery  member  of  the  House, 
it  was  not  permitted  to  come  to  a  vote.  It 
having  been  agreed  that  Congressional  as- 
pirants from  Springfield  should  limit  their 
ambition  to  a  single  term,  Mr.  Lincoln's 
partner  was  nominated  to  succeed  him,  but 
was  defeated  at  the  polls.  In  the  distribu- 
tion of  federal  offices  under  President  Tay- 
lor, Mr.  Lincoln  was  offered  the  governor- 
ship  of   Oregon    Territory,    but   declined    it. 

Anti-Slavery  Agitation. 

Following  his  term  in  Congress,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln applied  himself  assiduously  to  the 
practice  of  law  until  1854,  when  "the  repeal 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise  aroused  him 
as  he  had  never  been  before."  In  the  au- 
tumn of  that  year  he  made  several  speeches 
in  support  of  Hon.  Richard  Yates  for  Con- 
gress. Of  the  Repeal  he  said:  "Repeal  the 
Missouri  Compromise,  repeal  all  compro- 
mises, repeal  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence, repeal  all  past  history,  you  still  can- 
not repeal  human  nature.  It  still  will  be 
the  abundance  of  man  s  heart  that  slavery 
extension  is  wrong,  and  out  of-  the  abund- 
ance of  his  heart  his  mouth  will  continue 
to  speak." 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  the  candidate  of  his 
party  for  United  States  Senator  the  next 
winter,  but  being  in  a  minority,  his  friends 
finally  united  with  five  Anti-Nebraska 
Democrats  and  elected  Hon.  Lyman  Trum- 
bull. Reviewing  these  events,  Mr.  Lincoln 
said  in  the  following  year:  "That  spirit 
which  desired  the  peaceful  extinction  of 
slavery  has  itself  become  extinct  with  the 
occasion  and  the  men  of  the  Revolution. 
Under  the  impulse  of  that  occasion,  nearly 
half  the  States  adopted  systems  of  emanci- 


ilhe  Keuj-ljork  ]Meuj$-Letter. 


pation  at  once,  and  it  is  a  significant  fact 
that  not  a  single  State  lias  done  the  like 
since.  Our  political  problem  now  is,  can 
we,  as  a  nation,  continue  together  perma- 
nently— forever — half  slave  and  half  free?" 
In  1856  Mr.  Lincoln  assisted  in  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Republican  party  in  Illi- 
nois, and  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention 
that  nominated  John  C.  Fremont,  himself 
receiving  110  votes  on  the  first  ballot  for 
Vice-President.  He  made  over  fifty  speeches 
during  the  campaign,  and  when  his  oppo- 
nents said  the  agitation  against  the  exten- 
sion of  slavery  would  destroy  the  Union,  he 
replied:  "We  do  not  want  to  dissolve  the 
Union;  you  shall  not."  When  Buchanan 
was  elected,  Lincoln  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  our  government  rests  on  public 
opinion,  that  opposition  to  slavery  extension 
had  a  majority  of  400,000  votes,  and  urged 
a  re-inauguration  of  the  good  old  "central 
idea"  of  the  Republic  that  "all  men  are 
created  equal."  "We  can  do  it,"  he  said. 
"The  human  heart  is  with  us.  God  is  with 
us." 

The  Dred  Scott  Decision. 

In  the  following  year  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  declared  in  the  Dred 
Scott  case  that  neither  Congress  nor  a  ter- 
ritorial legislature  had  power  to  prohibit 
slavery  in  the  Territories.  This  placed  both 
the  Republicans  and  the  Douglas  Democrats 
in  a  dilemma.  Mr.  Lincoln  met  it  by  say- 
ing: "We  think  the  Dred  Scott  decision 
erroneous.  We  know  the  court  that  made  it 
has  often  overruled  its  own  decisions,  and 
we  shall  do  what  we  can  to  have  it  over- 
rule this.  We  offer  no  resistance  to  it." 
He  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
decision  was  not  unanimous,  nor  in  accord- 
ance with  the  practice  of  the  departments 
of  the  Government,  in  all  its  past  history; 
that  it  was  based  on  assumed  historical 
facts  that  were  not  true,  and  claimed  that 
it  had  not  yet  established  a  settled  doctrine 
for  the  country.  Douglas  made  it  tally  with 
his  popular  sovereignty  doctrine  by  saying 
that  a  guarantee  of  the  Constitution  re- 
mained a  barren  right  unless  enforced  by 
local   legislation   and   police   regulations. 

The  efforts  of  Buchanan's  administration 
to  make  Kansas  a  slave  State  widened  the 
breach  between  it  and  the  followers  of 
Senator  Douglas  who,  in  1858,  canvassed 
the  State  for  a  re-election.  Against  him 
the  Republicans  nominated  Mr.  Lincoln,  and 


Mr.  Lincoln  in  1856. 

From  a  tintype  now  in  the  possession  of  Mrs. 
Paddock,  of  Princeton,  ill.,  to  whom  it  was  given  by 
Mr.  Lincoln.     Photo,  by  Guy  R.  Mathis. 


This  man,  whose  homely  face  you  look  upon, 
Was  one  of  Nature's  masterful  great  men; 
Born  with  strong  arms,  that  unfought  bat- 
tles won; 
Direct    of    speech    and    cunning   with    the 
pen. 

Chosen  for  large  designs,  he  had  the  art 

Of  winning  with  his  humor,  and  he  went 
Straight  to  his  mark,  which  was  the  human 
heart ; 
Wise,   too,   for  what  he  could  not  break, 
he  bent. 

Upon  his  back  a  more  than  Atlas-load, 
The  burden  of  the  Commonwealth,  was 
laid; 
He   stooped,  and  rose  up  to  it,  though  the 
road 
Shot    suddenly    downwards,    not    a    whit 
dismayed. 

Hold,  warriors,  councillors,  kings!     all  now 

give  place 
To  this  dear  benefactor  of  the  Race. 

-R.  H.  Stoddard. 


the  two  met  in  joint  debate  on  seven  dif- 
ferent occasions.  Mr.  Lincoln  asserted  that, 
either  the  opponents  of  slavery  would  arrest 
its  extension  and  place  it  in  the  course  of 
ultimate  extinction,  or  its  advocates  would 
push  it  forward  until  it  became  lawful  in 


lO 


Che  Meuu-yorh  Neuus-Letter. 


fcoUTH  Front  Koom— Lincoln  Homestead. 

Sofa  used  in  parlor  where  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Dougrlas  courted  their  wives.  Chair  was  Lincoln's.  Frame 
on  same  contains  letter  written  bv  tieorge  Washington.  Photo,  made  for  Xews-Lettek.  Feb.  11,  190;5.  by 
Guy  K.  .Mathis. 


all  the  states.  He  insisted,  in  opposition 
to  Douglas"  theory  of  local  police  regula- 
tions, that  slavery  had  gone  into  the  terri- 
tories without  it,  and  that  territorial  legisla- 
tures or  Congress  would  be  obliged  to  up- 
hold constitutional  rights.  After  his  defeat, 
Mr.  Lincoln  said:  "Douglas  had  the  inge- 
nuity to  be  supported  in  the  late  contest, 
both  by  the  best  means  to  break  down 
and  to  uphold  the  slave  interest.  No  in- 
genuity can  keep  these  antagonistic  ele- 
ments in  harmony  long.  Another  explosion 
will  soon  come." 

Not  a  Fanatic. 

Between  1858  and  1860  Mr.  Lincoln's 
efforts  were  directed  agains*^  any  obscuring 
of  the  real  issue  before  the  country,  and 
against  following  any  false  lights.  He  urged 
that  the  question  of  slavery  extension 
should  not  be  ignored,  nor  local  issues 
magnified  to  gain  support.  Yet  he  was  so 
far  from  being  a  fanatic,  that  when  the 
John  Brown  raid  occurred  in  1859,  he  saia; 


"John  Brown's  effort  was  peculiar.  It  was 
not  a  slave  insurrection.  It  was  an  attempt 
by  white  men  to  get  up  a  revolt  among 
slaves,  in  which  the  slaves  refused  to  par- 
ticipate. In  fact,  it  was  so  absurd  that  the 
slaves,  with  all  their  ignorance,  saw  plainly 
enough  it  could  not  succeed.  That  affair, 
in  its  philosophy,  corresponds  with  the 
many  attempts,  related  in  history,  at  the 
assassination  of  kings  and  emperors.  An 
enthusiast  broods  over  the  oppression  of 
a  people  till  he  fancies  himself  commis- 
sioned by  Heaven  to  liberate  them.  He 
ventures  the  attempt,  which  ends  in  little 
else  than  his  own  execution." 

In  December,  1859,  Mr.  Lincoln  made 
several  addresses  in  Kansas,  the  key-note 
of  which  was  that,  "we  must  have  a  national 
policy  as  to  slavery,  which  deals  with  it  as 
being  a  wrong."  He  delivered  a  number 
of  speeches  in  the  eastern  states  during 
the  following  winter,  of  which  his  famous 
Cooper  Union  speech  was  a  type.  The  chief 
points   made   were,  that   those   who   framed 


Che  Keuu-yorh  Neuus-Letter. 


II 


North  Front  Room— Lincoln  Homestead. 

Lamps  on  mantel  and  table  used  at  Lincoln's  wedding.     Chair  with  ribbons  was  "Tad's."     From 
Photo,  by  Guy  R.  Mathis. 


the  Constitution  and  the  amendments 
thereto  never  assumed  that  Congress  had 
no  control  over  slavery  in  the  territories; 
that  if  slavery  was  right  it  should  not  be 
legislated  against,  if  it  was  wrong  it  should 
not  be  allowed  to  spread;  that  those  who 
thought  it  wrong  could  afford  to  let  it  alone 
where  it  was,  because  that  much  was  due 
to  the  necessity  arising  from  its  actual 
presence  in  the   nation. 

Elected  President. 

The  Republican  National  Convention  met 
in  Chicago  on  May  16,  1860.  Its  platform 
denied  "the  authority  of  Congress,  of  a 
territorial  legislature,  or  of  any  individuals 
to  give  legal  existence  to  slavery  in  any 
Territory  in  the  United  States."  Mr.  Lin- 
coln was  nominated  for  President  on  the 
third  ballot.  After  an  exciting  campaign 
he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  fifty-four 
In  the  electoral  college.  During  the  interval 
between  his  election  and  inauguration, 
seven  of  the  southern  States  seceded  from 


the  Union,  organized  the  "Confederate 
States  of  America,"  elected  and  inaugurated 
a  President,  and  enacted  laws  for  raising 
and  organizing  an  army  of  100,000  men. 
Nearly  all  the  military  posts,  arsenals,  navy 
yards,  mints  and  custom-houses  within  the 
seceded  States  were  seized;  the  forts  that 
refused  to  surrender  were  besieged,  and 
expeditions  sent  to  their  relief  were  fired 
upon  and  compelled  to  turn  back. 

During  this  interval,  as  well  as  during  the 
presidential  campaign,  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
urged  to  make  some  public  declaration  that 
would  stay  the  progress  of  disunion.  He 
usually  declined,  on  the  ground  that  he  had 
many  times  disclaimed  any  intention  of 
interfering  with  slavery  where  it  already 
existed,  and  that  to  repeat  it  would  do  no 
good.  In  December,  however,  he  wrote  to 
Alexander  H.  Stephens  (afterward  Vice- 
President  of  the  Confederate  States)  asking 
for  a  copy  of  his  speech  against  secession, 
and  in  a  correspondence  which  followed  he 
said:     "Do  the  people  of  the   South   really 


12 


Che  Keui-ljorh  ISfeuus-Letter. 


entertain  fears  that  a  Republican  adminis- 
tration would,  directly  or  indirectly,  inter- 
fere with  the  slaves,  or  with  them  about 
the  slaves?  If  they  do,  I  wish  to  assure 
you,  as  once  a  friend*,  and  still  I  hope,  not 
an  enemy,  that  there  is  no  cause  for  such 
fears.  The  South  would  be  in  no  more 
danger  in  this  respect  than  it  was  in  the 
days  of  Washington." 

Leaves  Springfield. 

Mr.  Lincoln  left  Springfield  for  Washing- 
ton on  February  11th.  From  the  platform 
of  the  car  he  made  this  farewell  address 
to  his  fellow-townsmen: 

"My  Friends:  No  one,  not  in  my  situation, 
can  appreciate  my  feeling  of  sadness  at  this 
parting.  To  this  place  and  the  kindness  of 
these  people,  I  owe  everything.  Here  I  have 
lived  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  have 
passed  from  a  yo\;ng  to  an  old  man.  Here 
my  children  have  been  bom,  and  one  is 
buried.  I  now  leave,  not  knowing  when  or 
whether  ever  I  may  return,  with  a  task 
before  me  greater  than  that  which  rested 
upon  Washington.  Without  the  assistance 
of  that  Divine  Being  who  ever  attended 
him,  I  cannot  succeed.  With  that  assistance 
I  cannot  fail.  Trusting  in  Him  who  can  go 
with  me,  and  remain  with  you,  and  be 
everywhere  for  good,  let  us  confidently  hope 
that  all  will  yet  be  well.  To  His  care  com- 
mending you,  as  I  hope  in  your  prayers  you 
will  commend  me,  I  bid  you  an  affectionate 
farewell."  

On  the  morning  of  May  3,  1865,  a  funeral 
train,  bearing  the  body  of  the  martyred 
President,  entered  Springfield.  It  had 
come  over  the  same  route  traversed  by 
Mr.  Lincoln  on  his  way  to  Washington  four 
years  and  three  months  before.  Then  he 
went  to  his  work,  now  he  returned  to  his 
rest.  For  a  day  the  body  lay  in  the  Capitol, 
within  a  bower  of  bloom,  while  his  old 
friends  and  neighbors  bade  him  a  silent 
hail  and  farewell,  and  then  a  procession 
moved  to  Oak  Ridge,  and  all  that  was 
mortal  of  Abraham  Lincoln  was  committed 
to  the  earth.  They  read  at  his  open  grave 
his  last  inaugural  address,  justifying  the 
ways  of  God,  deprecating  malice  and  invok- 
ing charity,  and  then  they  "left  him  alone 
in  his  glory." 

—CnviliDxed  from  "  vl  S?iorf   Lifr  of  Abraham   Lin- 
coln," h>i  John  a.  NicoUui,  Thr  Ciiitn'ry  Company. 


Lincoln's  Law  Desk. 

The  chair  once  belonged  to  Daniel  Webster.  Photo- 
graphed in  Lincoln  Honiestead  Feb.  11,  1903,  for  the 
News-Letter,  by  (iuy  R.  Mathis. 


There  are  very  different  kinds  of  success. 
There  is  the  success  that  brings  with  it  the 
seared  soul — the  success  which  is  achieved 
by  wolfish  greed  and  vulpine  cunning — the 
success  which  makes  honest  men  uneasy  or 
indignant  in  its  presence.  Then  there  is  the 
other  kind  of  success — the  success  which 
comes  as  the  reward  of  keen  insight,  of  sa- 
gacity, of  resolution,  of  address,  combined 
with  unflinching  rectitude  of  behavior,  pub- 
lic and  private.  The  first  kind  of  success 
may,  in  a  sense — and  a  poor  sense  at  that — 
benefit  the  individual,  but  it  is  always  and 
necessarily  a  curse  to  the  community; 
whereas  the  man  who  wins  the  second 
kind  as  an  incident  of  its  winning  becomes 
a  beneficiary  to  the  whole  commonwealth. 

—President  Roosevelt. 


WIDOWED. 


*  Mr.  Stephens  was  a  member  of  the  House  with 
Mr.  Lincoln,  in  1847-49. 


My  little  babe!     No  cradle  song 

I  sing  to  thee  to-night. 
Across  my  eyes  a  bar  of  blood 

Has  burn'd  thee  from  my  sight. 

And  yet.  they  say,  the  fight  goes  on! 

O,  thou  who  art  his  son. 
Should  it  go  on  a  thousand  years, 

For  us  the  war  is  done. 

—F.  V.  Lewi.s.  in  Ontlook.  London- 


Che  Neuu-yorh  Keuus-Letter. 


13 


MY   CAPTAIN! 

O  Captain!    my  Captain!    our  feartui  trip  is 

done; 
The    ship    has    weather'd    every    rack,    the 

prize  we  sought  is  won; 
The  port  is  near,  the  bells  I  hear,  the  people 

all  exulting. 
While    follow    eyes    the    steady    keel,    the 

vessel    grim    and    daring; 
But  O  heart!     heart    heart! 
O  the  bleeding  drops  of  red. 
Where  on   the  deck   my   Captain   lies 
Fallen  cold  and  dead. 

O  Captain!    my  Captain!    rise  up  and  hear 

the  bells; 
Rise  up — for  you  the  flag  is  flung — for  you 

the  bugle  trills: 
For   you    bouquets    and    ribbon'd    wreaths — 

for  you  the  shores  a-crowding; 
For  you  they  call,  the  swaying  mass,  their 

eager    faces    turning; 
Here  Captain!    dear  father! 
This    arm    beneath    your   head; 
It  is  some  dream  that  on  the  deck 
You've  fallen  cold  and  dead. 

My   Captain   does   not  answer,   his   lips   are 

pale  and  still; 
My  father  does  not  feel  my  arm,  he  has  no 

pulse  nor  will; 
The    ship    is    anchor'd    safe   and    sound,    its 

voyage   closed   and   done; 
From  fearful  trip  the  victor  ship  comes  in 

with  object  won. 
Exult,  O  shores,  and  ring,  O  bells! 
But    I,    with    mournful    tread, 
Walk   the   deck   my   Captain   lies. 
Fallen  cold  and  dead. 

—  Walt  Whitman. 


In  New-York  Life  Homes. 

INTO  about  five  thotisand,  of  the  six 
or  seven  hundred  thousand,  homes 
which  constituted  the  great  New- 
York  Life  Family  in  1902,  death  came 
and  took  away  the  head  of  the  home. 
What  such  a  death  means  in  any  home 
none  but  those  who  have  had  experience 
know.  The  husband,  the  father,  the 
bread-winnei'  for  the  family  gone— how 
many  hearts  stood  still,  how  many  sank 
in  despair  at  the  thought !  Yet  not  quite 
in  despair,  in  these  homes,  for  the  Nev^- 
YoRK  Life  followed  death,  and  left  an 
average  amount  of  over  three  thousand 
dollars  in  each. 

The  Company  began  the  year  with 
about  six  hundred  thousand  policies  in 
force,  and  closed  it  with  over  seven  hun- 
dred thousand.  The  sixteen  million  dol- 
lars ($15,982,507)  paid  under  policies 
maturing  by  death  was  but  little  more 


than  half  the  benefactions  of  the  New- 
York  Life  among  the  members  of  its 
great  and  growing  family.  The  amount 
paid  on  the  policies  of  living  policy- 
hokbn-s  was  over  fourteen  and  a-half 
millions,  making  a  total  disbursed  in 
New- York  Life  homes  of  over  thirty 
and  a-half  million  dollars.  Over  thirty 
millions  more  were  added  to  the  Com- 
pany's funds  for  paying  future  claims 
as  they  mature. 

It  is  always  in  order  to  call  attention 
to  the  fact  that  under  the  New- York 
Life's  policies  one  does  not  need  to  "die 
to  win."  Here  were  over  four  millions 
paid  in  matured  endowments;  over  four 
millions  for  policies  surrendered— large- 
ly policies  on  life  plans  having  a  cash 
surrender  option  at  the  end  of  fixed  pe- 
riods— ;  and  over  four  nnllions  in  divi- 
dends. These  amounts  were  paid  on 
policies  that  gave  large  benefits  in  the 
way  of  protection  in  case  of  death  dur- 
ing fixed  periods,  and  large  cash  benefits 
to  living  policy-holders  at  the  end  of 
such  periods.  Annuities  providing  for 
a  fixed  life  income,  gave  over  a  million 
and  a-half  more. 

But  benefits  under  New- York  Life 
policies  often  begin  before  maturity  by 
death  or  the  end  of  accumulation  pe- 
riods. Loans  may  be  had  under  its  Ac- 
mulation  Policies  after  they  have  been 
in  force  two  full  years,  the  premium  for 
the  current  insurance  year  being  paid. 
The  amount  loaned  on  policies  in  1902 
was  over  nine  million  dollars.  These 
loans  doubtless  helped  many  a  man  over 
a  hard  place  without  obliging  him  to 
sell  his  policy.  Money  rates  at  the 
banks  and  on  'change  ruled  high  during 
the  latter  months  of  1902,  but  policy- 
holders in  the  New- York  Life  were  able 
to  borrow  on  their  policies  at  five  per 
cent.  The  amount  of  loans  on  policies 
at  the  end  of  the  year  was  over  twenty- 
two  million  dollars. 


Little  Mabel — "Ethel  must  think  you're 
lots   better   than   any  of  her  other   beaux." 

Mr.  Spoonaway  (gratified  and  blushing) 
—"Why  dear?" 

Little  Mabel — "Because  she  lets  me  stay 
in   the  room   when  you  call,  and  she  don't 


when  the  others  call." 


-Stray  Storiea. 


Che  isleuu-ljorh  Isfeuus-Letter, 


15 


Photo,  by  Guy  R.  Mat  his. 


East  Side  Court  House  Square. 


New-York  Life  Office. 


Deaths  in  a  Great  City. 

THE  estimated  population  of  the 
city  of  New  York  in  1902  was 
about  3,600,000,  and  the  number 
of  deaths  was  68,795.  Deducting  those 
which  occurred  in  the  Borough  of  Rich- 
mond, and  are  unclassified,  the  remain- 
ing deaths  were  distributed  according- 
to  age  as  follows:  Under  5  years,  24.- 
368 ;  between  5  and  65  years,  34,290 ; 
aged  65  and  upward,  8,855.  The  num- 
ber of  deaths  in  institutions — hospitals, 
asylums,  nurseries,  homes  for  the  aged, 
reformatories,  jails,  almshouses,  etc. — 
and  included  in  the  above,  was  17,094. 
The  average  death-rate  was  a  fraction 
over  19  per  1,000,  and  nearly  one-fourth 
of  all  deaths  occurred  in  institutions. 

We  are  surely  a  long  way  off  from  a 
healthy  people,  living  under  hygienic 
conditions,  when  so  many  cliildren  die 
under  five  years  of  age,  and  when  so 
many  others  do  not  live  out  half  their 
days.   The  number  dying  in  institutions, 


of  a  more  less  public  character,  will  be 
a  surprise  to  most  people.  We  have 
noticed  in  another  article  the  large  sums 
spent  in  charity  in  sustaining  these  in- 
stitutions; evidently  many  who  enter 
them  have  but  a  feeble  hold  upon  life— 
they  go  there  to  die.  The  diseases  which 
carried  off  the  largest  number,  outside 
of  institutions,  were  as  follows:  Pneu- 
monia, 9,317;  phthisis,  7,474;  diarrhoeal 
diseases,  7,723.  There  were  4,345  cases 
calling  for  a  coroner's  inquest. 

The  suggestive  points  in  these  vital 
statistics  are  (1)  the  large  number  who 
die  very  young,  evidently  because  of 
poverty  and  lack  of  care;  (2)  the  large 
luimber  who  die  in  institutions,  many  of 
whom  are  there  for  lack  of  means  and 
lack  of  homes;  and  (3)  the  few  who  live 
to  be  65  years  of  age.  If  the  reader  can 
find  in  these  things  reasons  for  Life  In- 
surance, he  will  save  us  from  the  charge 
of  getting  an  argument  for  it  out  of  an 
unpleasant  theme. 


i6 


iThe  Neuu-ljorh  Neuus-Letter. 


THE 

NEW=YORK  NEWS=LETTER. 

JAMES    M.  HUDNUT,  Editor. 


Printed  bv  Wm.  H   Van  Wakt,  6i  Elm  St.,  New  York. 


NEW  YORK.  MARCH-APRIL.  1903. 


"We  Cannot  Escape  History." 

IX  his  {Uiiiujil  niessa-io  to  CoiiLiress  in 
December,  1862,  :\Ir.  Lincoln  urged 
compensated  emancipation,  "not  in 
exclusion  of.  but  additional  to  all  other 
means  for  restorinii'  and  preservini? 
the  national  authoi-ity  throughout  the 
Union."  In  concluding  his  argument 
for  the  measure,  he  said:  "We  cannot 
escape  history.  *  *  *  No  personal  sig- 
nificance, or  insignificance,  can  spare 
one  or  another  of  us.  The  fiery  trial 
through  which  we  pass  will  light  us 
down,  in  honor  or  dishonor,  to  the  latest 
generation.  We  say  we  are  for  the 
Union.  The  world  will  not  forget  that 
we  say  this.  We  know  how  to  save  the 
Union.  The  world  knows  we  do  know 
how  to  save  it.  *  *  *  We  shall  nobly 
save,  or  meanly  lose,  the  last,  best  hope 
of  earth.  Other  means  may  succeed; 
this  could  not  fail.  The  way  is  plain, 
peaceful,  genercuis,  just  — a  way  which, 
if  followed,  the  world  will  forever  ap- 
plaud, and  God  nnist  forever  bless." 

Suppose  we  apply  the  same  reasoning 
to  the  future  of  a  man's  family.  He 
cannot  escape  history— cannot  escape 
his  responsibility  for  that  future— can- 
not escape  responsibility  for  the  condi- 
tion in  which  the  family  will  be  obliged 
to  live.  He  will  make  that  future  for 
them  very  largely  by  what  he  is  and 
what  he  does.  This  is  true  entirely 
apart  from  the  provision  he  may  make 
for  them  by  Life  Insurance;  it  is  true 
if  he  lives  long,  and  it  is  true  if  he  dies 
pnMuaturely.  lie  says  he  is  for  them  — 
for  their  support,  education— their  best 
interests.  The  world  will  not  forget  this. 
He  knows  how  to  take  care  of  them 
in  case  of  premature  death,  and  the 
world  knows  that  he  does  know  how. 
He  knows  Life  Insurance  would  do  it. 


"Other  means  may  succeed,  this  could 
not  fail."  It  is  "plain,  peaceful,  gen- 
erous, just." 

He  will  either  "nobly  save,  or  meanly 
lose,  the  last,  best  hope  of  earth."  His 
family  is  that  hope— surely  nothing  on 
earth  is  dearer.  To  save  its  future  by 
Life  Insurance  is  to  save  it  by  fore- 
thought, by  deliberate  purpose,  by  self- 
(l(Miial  — that  is  "nobly."  To  lose  it  by 
failing  to  insui'e,  will  be  to  lose  it  by 
neglect,  by  letting  them  take  a  risk  he 
should  pay  for,  by  self-indulgence— that 
is   "meanly." 

No ;  we  cannot  escape  history.  We 
shall  nobly  save,  or  meanly  lose  the 
last,  best  hope  of  earth. 


Names  and  Things. 

THE  wi'iter  remembers,  as  a  college 
expei-ience,  his  surprise,  upon 
taking  up  a  new  study,  to  find 
so  much  of  it  in  the  dictionary.  When 
he  learned  what  the  words  meant,  he 
knew  considerable  about  the  subject. 

Now  this  article  is  to  be  a  brief  ex- 
planation of  three  different  kinds  of 
life  insurance  contracts.  If  you  know 
all  about  such  things,  just  see  if  we  state 
the  facts  correctly  and  clearly;  if  you 
don't,  you  will  never  have  a  better 
chance  to  learn. 


1.  Ax  Ordinary  Life  Policy.  An 
Ordinary  Life  Policy  is  a  contract  in 
which  the  Company  agrees  to  pay  a  cer- 
tain sum  at  the  death  of  the  person  in- 
sured, whenever  that  event  may  occur, 
provided  the  policy  is  then  in  force. 
Payments  are  required  to  be  made  by 
the  insured  annually,  until  death. 

This  is  the  contract  in  its  normal  state, 
but  various  privileges  attached  to  it  may 
cause  it  to  assume  other  forms.  For  ex- 
ample, if  the  insured  ceases  to  pay,  the 
non-forfeiture  clause  may  transform  the 
policy  into  a  term  policy,  good  only  for 
a  limited  period ;  or,  into  a  paid-up  pol- 
icy for  a  reduced  amount,  good  for  life. 
At  the  end  of  ten,  fifteen,  twenty,  twen- 
ty-five or  thirty  years,  the  policy  will  be 
entitled  to  a  dividend,  and  the  policy- 
holder is  allowed  to  continue  the  policy, 
sell  it  for  cash,  or  take  its  value  in  any 
one  of  several  other  ways. 


iThe  I^euu-yorh  ISfeuus-Letter. 


17 


2.  A  Limited  Payment  Life  Policy. 
A  Limited  Payment  Life  Policy  is  the 
same  as  an  Ordinary  Life  Policy,  except 
that  the  payments  made  by  the  insured 
are  only  made  during  a  limited  period— 
usually  ten,  fifteen  or  twenty  years. 
Both  "this  and  the  Ordinary  Life  are 
sometimes  called  Whole  Life  Policies, 
because  they  contemplate  insurance  dur- 
ing the  whole  of  life. 

The  annual  cost  of  the  Limited  Pay- 
ment Life  Policy  is  naturally  greater 
than  that  of  the  Ordinary  Life,  because 
the  whole  cost  is  paid  in  a  limited  time. 
Foi-  example,  for  a  man  aged  35,  the 
Ordinary  Life  Policy  costs  $28.11  per 
$1,000  annually,  until  death;  the  20- 
Payment  Life  Policy  costs  $38.34  an- 
nually for  20  years:  the  15-Payment 
Life  costs  $45.91  annually  for  15  years; 
and  the  10-Payment  Life  costs  $61.53 
annually  for  10  years.  Privileges  at  the 
end  of  the  first  dividend  period  are  sim- 
ilar to  those  under  the  Ordinary  Life 
Policy. 

If  one  can  afford  to  pay  for  all  the 
insurance  he  needs  at  the  higher  rates  of 
the  Limited  Payment  Life  Policy,  it  is 
often  wise  to  do  so,  because  he  may 
thus,  while  prosperous,  either  pay  up  his 
policy  entirely,  or  get  such  an  equity  in 
it  that  the  non-forfeiture  provisions 
would  continue  it  as  term  insurance  for 
many  years,  or  give  a  large  paid-up  pol- 
icy,—in  case  he  should  cease  to  pay. 

3.  An  Endowment  Policy.  An 
Endowment  Policy  is  a  contract  in 
which  the  life  company  agrees  to  pay 
a  certain  amount  at  death,  in  case  of 
death  during  a  fixed  period,  and  to  pay 
a  certain  amount  (usually  the  same)  to 
the  insured,  in  case  he  survives  the  fixed 
period.  The  cost  may  be  paid  annually 
during  the  Endowment  period,  or  an- 
nually during  a  shorter  period.  The 
great  value  of  the  Endowment  Policy 
is  the  provision  it  makes  for  old  age, 
after  furnishing  protection  during  a 
limited  period. 

The  cost  of  an  Endowment  Policy 
must  cover  the  cost  of  insurance  during 
the  endowment  period,  and  the  cost  of 
the  endowment  to  those  who  survive. 
At  age  35,  an  Endowment  Policy  for 
$1,000,  payable  to  the  insured's  family, 
in  case  of  death  during  twenty  years, 


and  to  the  insured  himself  if  he  survives 
the  twenty  years,  is  $52.47  annually  un- 
til the  policy  matures,  either  by  the 
death  of  the  insured  or  by  the  expiration 
of  the  endowment  period. 

What  is  an  " Accuimilation  Policy"? 
This  is  a  general  name  given  by  the 
Xew-Yort'  Life  Insurance  Company 
to  its  regular  life  and  endowment  pol- 
icies, described  above,  issued  with  the 
most,  and  the  most  valuable,  privileges 
ever  embodied  in  life  insurance  con- 
tracts.    Ask  to  see  one 


M 


THE    PATHOS    OF    IT. 

ANY  sad  things  happen  in  a  great 
city — sometimes  they  concern  chil- 
dren, sometimes  women,  this  time 
it  is  a  man.  We  clip  it  from  the  "World" 
of  January  24: 

"Aristide  Feron,  an  aged  silversmith  of 
No.  209  East  One  Hundred  and  Fourth 
Street,  Ivilled  his  pet  cat  by  shooting  last 
night.  He  wrapped  the  body  up  in  a  sheet, 
placed  it  at  the  foot  of  his  bed,  and  then  lay 
down  and  drank  carbolic  acid.  He  was 
found  dead  by  a  policeman  at  8  o'clock. 

"There  were  many  letters,  one  to  the 
Coroner,  another  to  his  landlord  and  others 
to  relatives,  which  told  of  months  of  hard- 
ship brought  on  by  poverty  and  loneliness 
since  his  wife's  death  three  years  ago.  Since 
she  died  the  old  man  had  lived  alone  with 
the  big  black  cat  as  his  sole  companion,  and 
attempted  to  support  himself  at  a  trade  in 
which  he  was  once  skilled  and  made  good 
wages. 

"  'I  want  my  cat  to  be  buried  with  me.' 
he  wrote  to  the  coroner.  'My  life  insurance 
[for  $45]  is  paid  up  to  Feb.  2.  I  want  to  be 
buried  with  my  wife.' 

"In  his  letter  to  his  landlord  he  thanked 
him  for  many  kindnesses.  He  spoke  of  the 
landlord  having  sent  him  to  the  French 
Charity  Organization  and  of  getting  fifty 
cents  a  week  from  them  for  fcod. 

"On  this  money  he  had  existed  for  many 
weeks,  unable  to  pay  his  rent  and  little 
more  than  able  to  provide  food  for  himself 
and  scraps  for  the  cat.  An  account  book  was 
found  showing  how  he  had  spent  the  money. 
During  the  last  week,  it  showed  he  had 
spent  10  cents  for  car  fare,  15  cents  for  life 
insurance   premium,  and   25  cents  for  food. 

"A  letter  asking  him  to  vacate  the  rooms 
he  occupied  was  found  on  the  bureau." 


lUhe  ]s(euu-lJorh  ]^{euj$-Letter. 


19 


(iH.vrH  Lttheran  Chikch. 


First  Presbyterian  Church. 


M 


Photos,  by  Guy  R.  Mathis 
LIFE   A   CHOICE   OF    DANGERS. 

R.  and  Mrs.  Peary,  after  ail  the  perils 
of  an  Arctic  exploration  had  been 
safely  encountered,  were  subjected 
to  a  railway  collision  in  Nova  Scotia,  on 
Monday,  and  narrowly  escaped  with  their 
lives.  Life  is  a  choice  of  infelicities.  All 
conditions  are  the  nursing  mothers  of 
dangers.  —Dailu  Paper. 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  several 
members  of  the  writer's  regiment,  who 
had  escaped  the  dangers  of  battle,  died 
while  on  the  march  from  Richmond  to 
Washington,  by  reason  of  an  over-dose 
of  aconite;  another  was  struck  by  light- 
ning while  doing  sentry  dnty.  An  Ohio 
regiment,  that  had  marched  from  At- 
lanta to  the  sea  with  Sherman,  and  from 
Savannah   to   Washington,    lost    several 


appeared  to  be  in  great  danger  of  it. 
The  man  who  thinks  he  can  foresee  the 
time  of  his  death,  or  who  thinks  he  fore- 
sees any  certain  length  of  days  yet  be- 
fore him,  makes  a  great  mistake.  The 
..lan  who  puts  off  doing  a  good  deed, 
such  as  helping  the  needy,  making  his 
will,  or  insuring  his  life,  runs  the  risk 
of  never  doing  it. 

Life  Insurance  can  least  of  all  afford 
to  wait,  because  death  is  not  the  only 
thing  that  may  prevent  it.  A  man  may 
lose  his  health  or  his  money,  and  so  be 
unable  to  insure,  as  surely  as  if  he  lost 
his  life.  The  very  reasons  he  usually 
urges  for  not  insuring  at  once— such  as 
good  health,  long-lived  ancestry,  healthy 
occupation,  a  good  business  and  money 
in  bank— are  not  only  the  best  of  reasons 
for  immediate  action,  but  some  of  them 


members  by  a  railroad  accident  as  the      are  the  prerequisites  of  insurance.     Get 
men  were  taking  the  cars  for  home.  it  while  you  have  them. 

Examples  might  be   multiplied   from  

the  reports  in  the  daily  papers  and  from 
individual  experiences.  People  who  die 
in  middle  life  or  old  age  have  usually 
heen  near  to  death  many  times— or  have 


"Here,  Patrick;   here's  a  fat  little  pig  for 
Christmas  roasting." 

"Thank  yez,  sor;   it's  just  like  yez,  sor!" 

—New  York  T^imes. 


20 


iChe  ]Sfeuu-l[orh  IMeuus-Letter. 


REGRET. 

Oh,  that  wcrd  regret, 

There   have   been   nights   and   morns   when 

we  have  sighed, 
"Let  us   alone.   Regret!      We  are  content 
To   throw    thee   all    our   past,   so   thou    wilt 

sleep 
For  aye."     But  it  is  patient,  and  it  wakes; 
It  has  not  learned  to  cry  itself  to  sleep, 
But  jilaineth  on   the  bed  that  it  is  hard. 
We  did  amiss  when  we  did  wish  it  gone 
And  over:   sorrows  humarize  the  race: 
Tears    are    the    showers    that    fertilize    this 

world : 
And    memory    of    things    precious    keepeth 

warm 
The  heart  that  once  did  fold  them. 

They  are  poor 
Who  have  lost  nothing;  they  are  poorer  far 
Who.  losing,  have  forgotten:  they  most  poor 
Of  all  who  lose,  and  wish  they  might  forget. 
For  life  is  one.  and  in  its  warp  and  woof 
There   runs   a   thread   of   gold   that   glitters 

fair. 
And  sometimes  in  the  pattern  shows  most 

sweet 
Where  there  are  sombre  colors.     It  is  true 
That  we  have  wept.     But  oh,  this  thread  of 

gold. 
We  would  not  have  it  tarnish :    let  us  turn 
Oft  and  look  back  upon  the  wondrous  web. 
And    when    it    shineth    sometimes    we    shall 

know 
That  memory  is  possession. 

—Jean  Iimeloic. 


NOTES    ON    SPRINGFIELD. 

IN  May,  1818.  Elisha  Kelly,  an  Irishman 
from  North  Carolina,  in  search  of  the 
picturesque  and  the  comfortable,  camped 
on  the  banks  of  Spring  Creek,  at  what  is 
now  the  western  end  of  Springfield.  The 
location  filled  his  eye,  and  enraptured  his 
heart,  for  he  retraced  his  steps  to  the  old 
North  State  and  persuaded  his  father,  his 
brother  and  a  brother-in-law  to  emigrate  to 
Illinois.  John  Kelly  built  a  cabin  near  what 
is  now  the  corner  of  JeiTerson  and  Second 
Streets,  and  in  1819  William  Kely  and  An- 
drew Elliott,  the  brother-in-law.  built  near 
him.  In  1821,  the  Sangamon  County  Com- 
missioners designated  "a  certain  point  in 
the  prairie  near  John  Kelly's  field,  on  the 
waters  of  Spring  Creek,  at  a  stake  marked 
ZD,  as  a  temporary  seat  of  justice  for  the 
said  county,"  and  agreed  that  "the  said 
county  seat  be  called  and  known  by  the 
name  of  Springfield." 

The  first  plat  of  the  village  was  made  in 
1823,  at  which  time  there  were  quite  a  num- 
ber of  houses.  Four  men — Pascal  P.  Enos, 
Elijah  lies.  Thomas  Cox  and  John  Taylor — 


had  secured  the  four  sections  of  land  ad- 
joining, and  they  gave  the  lots  upon  which 
improvements  had  been  made  to  those  who 
had  made  them.  When  the  new  village  was 
laid  out  it  was  called  Calhoun,  but  in  1826 
the  southern  statesman  for  whom  it  was 
named  had  become  unpopular  in  Illinois, 
and  the  town  took  its  old  name  again.  The 
first  log  court-house  was  built  near  the  cor- 
ner of  Jefferson  and  Second  Streets  at  a 
cost  of  $72.50.  A  jail,  also  of  logs,  cost 
$84.75,  and  a  whipping-post  stood  hard   by. 

In  consideration  of  its  being  made  the 
county  seat,  a  number  of  acres  in  the  best 
part  of  the  village  were  given  to  the  county. 
From  this  a  public  square  was  reserved  and 
the  remainder  was  divided  into  lots,  and 
sold.  A  frame  court-house  succeeded  the 
one  built  of  logs,  and  in  1831  a  two-story 
brick  building  was  erected  in  the  center  of 
the  square.  In  1837,  when  Springfield  was 
made  the  capital,  the  square  was  given  to 
the  State,  and  the  court-house  was  removed, 
In  1845.  a  court-house  was  built  at  Wash- 
ington and  Sixth  Streets,  and  this  was  used 
until  1867,  when  the  county  acquired  the  old 
State  House  for  $200,000  in  cash  and  a  new 
site  for  the  State  which  cost  $70,000. 

Springfield  was  first  incorporated  as  a 
town  in  1832.  The  town  government  con- 
tinued for  nine  years,  and  among  the  trus- 
tees who  served  during  this  time  were 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  his  law  partner.  Ste- 
phen T.  Logan.  A  city  charter  was  ob- 
tained in  1840.  The  city  then  consisted  of 
four  wards,  each  represented  in  council  by 
an  alderman.  In  1854,  each  ward  was  al- 
lowed three  aldermen.  The  first  mayor  was 
Benjamin  S.  Clements.  The  number  of 
wards  was  increased  in  1874  to  six,  and  in 
1892  to  seven.  North  Springfield.  South 
Springfield,  West  Springfield  and  Laurel 
have  since  been  annexed. 

The  proper  drainage  of  the  town  early 
occupied  attention,  and  the  first  sewer  was 
built  in  1857.  The  small  streams  emptying 
into  Spring  Creek  have  been  utilized  for 
this  purpose,  and  in  1898  there  were  over 
forty  miles  of  sewers  in  the  city. 

An  attempt  to  secure  a  water  supply  was 
also  made  in  1857,  by  an  artesian  well. 
This  proved  futile,  and  in  18G6  the  present 
water  system  was  begun.  Water  is  drawn 
from  sources  parallel  with  the  Sangamon 
River  about  three  miles  from  the  city,  and 
after  being  filtered,  it  passes  into  a  great 
well  and  is  pumped  thence  into  the  city  res- 


Che  Keuj-l[orh  Keujs-Letter. 


21 


ervoir.  The  reservoir  has  a  capacity  of 
4,000,000  gallons,  and  is  surrounded  by  a 
park  of  thirty  acres.  The  water-works  cost 
$400,000. 

Street  paving  was  first  begun  in  1870, 
when  the  streets  surrounding  the  square 
were  paved  with  wooden  blocks.  Not  much 
progress  was  made  until  1883,  but  during 
the  five  years  following  that  time,  twenty 
miles  of  white  cedar  pavement  were  laid. 
In  1888,  brick  was  adopted  for  paving,  and 
during  the  next  ten  years  about  fourteen 
miles  of  the  cedar  pavements  were  replaced 
by  brick  and  about  seven  miles  of  new 
paving  were  done  with  brick. 

In  Springfield's  early  days,  transportation 
except  on  the  rivers  was  by  wagon,  and  the 
road  from  St.  Louis  passed  through  the 
town  and  on  to  Peoria  and  Galena.  It  was 
thought  that  the  Sangamon  might  be  made 
navigable,  and  a  boat  was  once  run  up  as 
far  as  Bridgeport,  but  the  channel  was 
found  too  narrow  and  too  crooked.  Rafts 
were  sometimes  sent  down  the  Sangamon  to 
St.  Louis  and  even  to  New  Orleans,  but 
such  ventures  usually  proved  unprofitable. 
The  first  railroad  entered  Springfield  in 
1842 — a  road  now  owned  by  the  Wabash. 
Six  roads,  with  fifty-six  passenger  trains 
daily,  now  give  all  needed  facilities. 

The  street  car  system  embraces  over 
twenty  miles  of  track  and  is  operated  by 
electricity.  Electricity  for  lighting  pur- 
poses is  furnished  by  a  plant  which  will 
soon  become  the  property  of  the  city,  the 
purchase  being  made  from  the  reduced  cost 
of  lighting  the  city,  as  compared  with  for- 
mer prices. 

—Condensed  from    the  Illinois  Capital    Illustrated, 
issued  by  the  "  State  Register." 


The  New-York  Life  and  All 
Companies. 

THE  business  of  the  New- York  Life 
Insurance  Company  is  now  so 
large  that,  as  a  help  to  the  better 
comprehension  of  its  mao;nitncle,  we  have 
arrang'ed  some  comparisons  between  it 
and  the  business  of  all  the  life  com- 
panies doin<?  business  in  the  State  of 
New  York.  The  figures  of  all  companies 
include   those   of  the   New- York   Life. 

1.  New  Paid-for  Business. — In  1902 
the  New- York  Life's  new  paid-for  busi- 
ness was  over  $302,000,000.     The  new 


paid-for  business  of  all  companies,  as 
above,  did  not  reach  these  figures  until 
the  year  186G,  when  the  number  of  com- 
panies was  39.  It  then  exceeded  them 
until  1875,  and  fell  below  them  during 
each  of  the  ten  years  following. 

2.  Insurance  in  Force.— The  New- 
York  Life's  paid-for  insurance  in  force 
on  January  1,  1903,  was  over  $1,553,- 
000,000.  The  insurance  in  force  of  all 
companies,  as  above,  first  reached  these 
figures  in  1868,  when  the  number  of 
companies  was  55.  It  continued  above 
$1,553,000,000  until  1878,  when  it  fell 
below  and  remained  below  for  three 
years,  exceeding  this  amount  again  in 
1881. 

3.  Total  Income.— The  total  income 
of  the  New-York  Life  in  1902  was 
nearly  $80,000,000.  The  total  income 
of  all  companies,  as  above,  did  not  reach 
$80,000,000  until  the  year  1869,  when 
the  number  of  companies  was  69.  Their 
total  income  was  in  excess  of  $80,000,- 
000  for  ten  years,  and  then  fell  below 
that  amount  for  three  years. 

4.  Amount  Paid  Policy-Holders.— 
The  New- York  Life  paid  policy-holders 
in  1902  over  $30,000,000.  The  total 
amount  paid  policy-holders  in  one  year 
by  all  companies,  as  above,  did  not  reach 
$30,000,000  until  the  year  1869,  when 
the  number  of  companies  was  69. 

5.  Assets.  —  The  assets  of  the  New- 
York  Life  on  January  1,  1903,  were 
over  $322,000,000.  The  assets  of  all 
companies,  as  above,  did  not  reach 
$322,000,000  until  the  year  1872,  when 
the  number  of  companies  was  59. 

6.  The  New- York  Life's  Share  of 
ALL.  —  The  New- York  Life's  share  of 
the  total  new  business  first  permanently 
exceeded  ten  per  cent,  in  1877 ;  its  share 
of  the  total  income  first  permanently 
exceeded  ten  per  cent,  in  1879,  and  its 
share  of  insurance  in  force  and  of 
amount  paid  policy-holders  first  perma- 
nently exceeded  ten  per  cent,  of  the 
total" in  1882.  Its  share  of  the  total 
business  has  steadily  increased  until  it 
is  now  about  twenty  per  cent,  of  the 
total  of  the  38  companies  doing  business 
in  the  State,  which  comprises  practically 
all  the  business  done  in  the  country. 


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Che  Isfeuu-yorh  Mews-Letter. 


23 


VICTOR   OR   VANQUISHED? 

All  I  have  toiled  to  do  has  been  done  ill; 
All  I  have  striven  to  grasp  escaped  me  still; 
The  love  I  longed  to  win  has  passed  me  by; 
Mine  was  the  only  fault, — unworthy   I, 
The    path    that    others    tread,    I    could    not 

climb ; 
The  joy  that  others  held  was  never  mine: 
The  battle  is  unwon,  tho'  close  the  night. 
Yet  still   I've  fought,  tho'   sometimes   weak 

the  fight! 
Yet  still   I've  worked,  altho'  my  work   was 

vain: 
Tho'  I  have  failed,  in  naught  do  I  complain, 
All  that  I  ask  is  leave  to  fight  again. 

—Mary  N.  McCracken,  in  McClure's  Mauazinc. 


A  Great  City's  Charities. 

THE  city  of  New  York  has  appropri- 
ated in  its  budget  for  1903  the 
sum  of  $2,728,264.04  for  charitable 
purposes.  The  counties  composing  the 
city  have  appropriated  $194,305.64  to 
charitable  institutions  of  the  State,  as 
their  share  for  maintaining  the  same. 
The  total  amount  appropriated  for  char- 
ity by  the  city  and  the  counties  in  which 
it' is  located  is  $2,922,569.68.  The  num- 
ber of  city  institutions  receiving  help 
is  132,  and  the  number  of  State  institu- 
tions is  6.  The  largest  amount  paid  any 
single  institution  is  $285,436.03,  paid  to 
the  New  York  Foundling  Hospital ;  the 
smallest  amount  is  $187.50,  paid  to  the 
Jewish  Hospital  Dispensary.  As  most 
of  these  institutions  are  largely  sup- 
ported by  private  subscriptions,  while 
others  doing  similar  work  are  entirely  so 
supported,  the  amount  expended  in  char- 
ity within  the  limits  of  greater  New 
York  probably  exceeds  $5,000,000. 

The  rates  of  payment  to  private  char- 
itable institutions,  unless  otherwise  spec- 
ially provided  for,  are  as  follows :  In- 
fants under  2  years,  and  in  hospitals 
between  the  ages  of  2  and  5,  38  cents  per 
day.  Dependent  children,  2  to  16  years, 
$2  per  week.  Delinquent  children  $110 
per  annum.  Adult  inmates  of  reforma- 
tories, committed  by  courts,  $110  per 
annum.  Inmates  of  homes  for  fallen 
and  friendless  women,  $110  per  annum. 
]\Taternity  cases,  $18  each.  Homeless 
mothers  nursing  their  own  infants,  $12 
per  month.  For  medical  treatment  in 
hospitals,  60  cents  per  day;  for  surgical 
treatment,  80  cents  per  clay. 


These  one  hundred  and  thirty  odd 
institutions  of  charity,  which  care  for 
young  children,  for  the  aged,  and  the 
sick  who  ai-e  witliout  means  of  support, 
for  poor  mothei's  with  young  children, 
for  persons  injured  in  accidents,  and,  in 
part,  for  those  needing  treatment  in  hos- 
pitals,— show  how  humane  and  Christian 
the  spirit  underlying  American  civiliza- 
tion is.  A  great  many  persons  give 
much  time,  attention  and  money  toward 
the  organization  and  management  of 
these  institutions.  They  do  it  from  a 
sense  of  duty  and  a  feeling  of  real  kind- 
ness toward  the  unfortunate.  Their 
works  are  constant  examples  of  the  no- 
blest form  of  charity. 

Doubtless  we  shall  always  have  hos- 
pitals, but  in  the  perfect  civilization  to 
which  we  look  forward  there  will  be  no 
foundling  societies,  no  orphan  asylums, 
no  homes  for  the  aged  and  indigent,  no 
free  dispensaries,  no  reformatories,  no 
homes  for  destitute  children.  Every 
man  will  care  for  his  own.  We  get  a 
forcible  illustration  in  charitable  work 
of  the  truth  "It  is  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive."  It  is  much  to  these 
poor  people,  of  all  ages  and  conditions, 
to  receive  the  help  that  saves  them  from 
utter  destitution  and  death;  but  the 
givers  upon  whose  bounty  they  live  are 
surely  more  blessed — more  happy  be- 
cause they  have  no  need  of  charity. 
What  would  not  one  give  to  save  his 
loved  ones  from  the  necessity  of  receiv- 
ing it?  Many  can  do  it  by  insuring 
their  lives. 

In  England,  taxes  for  the  relief  of  the 
indigent  have  decreased  over  $15,000,000 
in  the  last  tifty  years,  notwithstanding 
the  increase  in  population.  Life  Insur- 
ance is  encouraged  by  the  English  Gov- 
ernment by  exempting  one-sixth  of  a 
man's  income  from  taxation — if  it  is 
expended  for  Life  Insurance. 


A   Purely   Mutual   Company, 
Fifty-seven   years   old, 
With   over  $300,000,000   in   Assets, 
With  the  Largest  Income, 
The  most  Liberal   Contract, 
The  Largest  New  Business, 
The  Most  Insurance  in  Force, 
Of  any  Company  in  the  World — 
That's  the  New-York  Life. 


24 


lEhe  ISfeuu-yorh  Keujs-Letter. 


THE    WAY    OF   A    MAID. 

She  told  him  not  to  come,  and  then 

Because  the  poor  wietch  stayed  away. 
Jeered  at  the  faithlessness  of  men. 

She  told  him  that  he  must  not  stay. 

And  then,  because  the  poor  soul  went. 
Would  scarcely  speal<  to  him  next  day. 

She  told  him  h(>  must  never  dare 

To  kiss  her,  and  when  he  obeyed 
She  wept  because  he  did  not  care. 

These  be  the  strange  ways  of  a  maid 

That  make  men  old  before  their  time, 
The  mighty,  weak;  the  brave,  afraid. 

— 'Diiiidiixiii  (iarrisiiiu  '"  l'«vh. 


KEEP  THE   BOYS  AT  SCHOOL! 

IT  is  much  to  be  feared  that,  as  one  direct 
result  of  the  marked  and  very  positive 
tendency  among  the  young  men  of  these 
times  toward  business  careers,  a  lot  of  bun- 
glers and  incompetents  may  be  found  in  the 
commercial  world  of  the  next  generation. 
Almost  everywhere  boys  are  being  rushed 
through  the  primary  and  intermediate  grades 
of  school,  with  little  thoroughness  and  only 
the  smallest  measure  of  general  informa- 
tion, in  order  the  quicker  to  get  them  to 
"doing  something."  There  is  observable 
among  them  a  very  general  ambition — most 
commendable  in  itself — to  get  into  places 
where  they  may  earn  money.  The  pay-roll 
is  the  great  goal  for  far  too  many  of  our 
American  boys  to-day,  and  in  the  larger 
cities  of  the  country  more  especially,  where 
all  the  good  things  of  life  that  money  brings 
are  the  more  constantly  in  evidence  and 
therefore  the  more  tempting,  far  too  many 
parents  encourage  their  boys  to  quit  school 
and  studies  early  and  get  out  "into  the 
hustle." 

A  tour  of  inspection  through  the  counting- 
rooms  and  manufacturing  buildings  of  this 
big  town  would  disclose  scores  and  hun- 
dreds of  bright,  active  boys  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  years  old  already  started  on  what 
all  of  them  believe,  of  course,  to  be  "busi- 
ness careers" — an  age  far  too  young  to  get 
out  into  the  work-a-day  world.  They  would 
much  better  be  at  their  books.  A  real 
"lousiness  career"  cannot  be  laid  without 
solid  foundations,  and  in  the  years  to  come 
this  lack  of  early  education  and  training 
will  rise  up  to  plague  them  at  every  turn. 
There  are  schools  that  offer  to  "finish  off" 
boys  and  girls  "for  business"  in  three,  six 
and  eight  months.     It  can't  be  done.     That 


sort  of  "schooling"  breeds  only  graduate 
bunglers  and  irresponsibles.  The  American 
business  world  wants  young  men  who  know 
something — and  it  always  has  places  for 
them. 

There  are  instances,  of  course,  where  do- 
mestic necessities  force  boys  out  onto  the 
pay-roll  at  too  tender  an  age.  But  they  are 
exceptional.  Keep  your  boys  at  school! 
No  "captain  of  industry"  ever  yet  climbed 
up  on  the  ladder  of  ignorance. 

— Xi'ic  Yink  Dnihi  Cinnn\irvial. 

In  order  that  no  "domestic  necessity"  may 
ever  take  your  children  out  of  school  too 
soon,  keep  your  life  insured  for  an  amount 
large  enough  to  finish  their  education. 
That's  the  least  one  can  decently  do  by  a 
child.  

The  Best  Policy  Contract. 

IN  a  recent  advertisement  of  the  New- 
York  Life  Insurance  Company  it 
declares  that  it  is  trying  to  do  five 
thing's,  one  of  which  is,  "To  issue  the 
hcsl  policfi  contract."  Perhaps  other 
companies  wonUl  say  that,  too,  so  the 
New- York  Life  invites  comparisons. 
Let  ns  put  the  matter  into  interrogative 
foi'm  : 

1.  Which  woitUl  you  prefer— a  con- 
tract that  promises  to  pay  a  certain 
amount  on  proof  of  your  death,  on  the 
sok^  condition  that  the  premiums  are 
duly  paid,  or,  a  contract  that  has  this 
condition  and  others  also?  If  other  con- 
ditions would,  under  any  circumstances, 
prevent  the  policy  from  being  paid,  they 
would  be  undesirable,  wotild  they  not? 
No  matter  what  they  refer  to,  they 
would  complicate  the  question  of  your 
pi'otection  under  the  policy.  Conditions 
and  restrictions  are  not  put  in  life  poli- 
cies for  fun,  btit  for  a  purpose,  and  that 
purpose  is,  under  certain  circumstances, 
to  render  the  policy  less  valuable  to  the 
insured. 

The  New- York  Life's  Accumulation 
Policy  has  but  the  one  condition  named 
above,  and  contains  no  restrictions  what-, 
ever. 

2.  Which  would  you  prefer,  a  policy 
that  is  non-forf citable  and  incontestable 
fi'om  date  of  issue,  or  one  that  is  non- 
forfeitable and  incontestable  after  being 
in  force  one,  two,  or  three  years?  Y^'ou 
might  never  wish  to   avail  vourself  of 


Che  Keui-ljorh  Kews-Letter. 


the  non-forfeiture  provisions  of  your 
policy— but,  then  again,  you  might. 
Policies  without  such  features  would 
hardly  be  allowed  by  law,  or  be  saleable 
at  all;  are  they  not  of  value,  then,  diu'- 
ing'  the  first  years  of  the  policy  .' 

The  New- York  Life's  Accumulation 
Policy  is  non-forf citable  and  incontest- 
able from  date  of  issue. 

3.  Which  would  you  prefer,  a  policy 
upon  which  you  could  secure  a  loan  at 
the  end  of  the  second  year,  or  one  which 
did  not  give  such  privilege  until  one  or 
two  or  three  years  later?  You  might 
never  wish  to  avail  yourself  of  this 
privilege,  but— if  you  did,  it  would  be 
valuable.  Policies  without  loan  privi- 
leges would  not  be  considered  the  best, 
because  they  would  lack  something  valu- 
able which  others  have ;  and  are  not  such 
privileges  valuable  in  a  policy  in  propor- 
tion to  their  availability  .' 

The  New-  York  Life's  Accumulation 
Policy  provides  for  loans  at  five  per 
cent,  after  being  two  years  in  force, 
premiums  for  the  current  insurance  year 
being  duly  paid. 

4.  Which  would  you  prefer,  a  policy 
automatically  non-forfeitable,  or  one 
which  requires  you  to  make  application 
for  the  benefit  within  a  limited  time? 
If  it  were  automatically  non-forfeitable 
you  could  not  lose  the  benefit  by  neglect, 
oversight  or  sickness ;  if  it  were  not,  you 
might  so  lose  it.  Again,  if  automatically 
non-forfeitable,  and  a  choice  were  al- 
lowed between  term  insurance  for  the 
full  amount  of  the  policy,  and  paid-up 
insurance  for  a  reduced  amount,  which 
course  would  you  wish  the  benefit  to 
take  in  case  you  forgot?  Wouldn't  it 
be  better  to  have  the  automatic  feature 
keep  the  policy  in  force  for  the  larger 
amount  ?  If  you  really  preferred  the 
other,  you  could  ask  for  it  within  a 
certain  time.  And  once  more,  if  you 
should  die  while  the  term  insurance 
feature  was  operative,  would  you  like 
to  have  a  deduction  made  for  so-called 
overdue  premiums '? 

The  New-  York  Life's  Accumulation 
Policy  is  automatically  non-forfeitable, 
and  if  no  choice  is  made,  the  benefit 
takes  the  form  of  term  insurance  for  the 
full  amount  of  the  policy ;  and  in  case  of 
death   while   the   term    insurance   is   in 


force  no  deduction  is  made  for  "overdue 
premiums. ' '         


There  are  other  phases  of  the  contract 
relating  to  the  beneficiary  and  to  the 
method  of  payment,  wherein  the  New- 
York  Life  aims  to  give  the  same  as 
other  companies  and  something  besides, 
but  the  above  is  enough  to  show  that  it 
is  no  idle  boast  when  the  Company  says 
"it  is  trying  to  issue  the  best  life  insur- 
ance contract." 


"THE    SCHOOLMASTER"    SAYS: 

If  you  would  ride  in  the  chariot  of  the 
sun,  get  up  early  in  the  morning. 

The  nation  that  spends  more  for  war  than 
for  education  is  doomed. 

Never    surrender!  What    are    your    little 

tribulations,    to   the  widow,    penniless    with 

her    children?      Be  brave,    be    patient,    be 
grateful. 

You  will  find  in  the  heart  of  a  great  city 
many  heroes  and  heroines  whose  lives  are 
a  sacrifice  for  those  whom  they  love. 

If  you  forget  to  kiss  your  wife,  she  will 
not    forget    it. 

A  nation  is  no  greater  than  its  homes, 
and  the  home  is  no  greater  than  the  chil- 
dren. All  the  conflicts  of  all  the  ages  have 
been  for  the  education  of  a  child. 

The  only  remedy  for  oppression  in  the 
United  States  is  the  ballot,  and  that  is  use- 
less unless  it  is  intelligent  and  sincere.  An 
ignorant  man  will  always  vote  for  the  thing 
that  crushes  him. 

Men  who  are  sincerely  interested  in  the 
welfare  of  our  nation  must  teach  a  doctrine 
of  patience.  No  great  reform  can  result 
in  a  hurry.  Nothing  will  be  permanently 
assured  by  violence. 

The  whole  world  is  advancing  and  Amer- 
ica leads  the  way.  We  are  better  off  than 
any  other  people  of  any  other  nation  in 
any  period  of  history.  It  is  because  men 
are  becoming  enlightened  that  men  demand 
more,  and  the  very  best  will  come  to  all 
in  time. 

You  cannot  be  warm  without  sunlight; 
you  cannot  be  happy  without  love. 

There  are  deserters  in  peace  as  well  as 
in  war.  —The  Schoolmaster. 


Che  Keui-ljorh  Keuus-Letter. 


27 


THE  DOUBTER  AND  THE  LOVER. 

I  heard  the  man  of  science  when 

He   rose  to  voice  his   doubt: 
"A   little   trouble   here   and   there 

The   grave  shall   blot   us  out!" 
His  words  were  grave,  his  brow  was  high, 

He  swept  belief  away, 
And  as  I  wandered  homeward,  I 
Beheld  the  stars  gleam  in  the  sky. 

And  heard  a  fountain  play. 

Yet,  while  the  doubt  was  in  my  breast 

A  lover  passed  my  way 
And  cried:     "The  lord  above  has  blessed 

Me  with  her  love  to-day!" 
And  as  he  hurried  onward,  I 

Looked  at  the  stars  above 
And  heard  his  song  ring  through  the  sky — 
Ah,  doubting  man  of  science,   why 

Not  go  and  fall  in  love? 

—Cbicagi)  Record-Herald. 


Life  Values. 


THE  suits  brought  against  the  New 
York    Central    and    Hudson   River 
Railroad    Company,    for   lives   lost 
in    the   tunnel    disaster   on   January    8, 

1902,  have  established  new  records  in 
life  values.  Eighteen  verdicts— not  all 
of  them  for  deaths— have  been  rendered, 
covering  an  aggregate  of  $472,000. 
The  largest  verdict  was  for  $100,000, 
awarded  on  the  life  of  Mr.  AA^illiam  Leys. 
The  latest  award,  made  on  January  26, 

1903,  was  for  $40,000,  on  the  life  of  Mr. 
Theodore  H.  Fajardo.  Mr.  Fajardo  was 
34  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  spoke  English,  Spanish,  French  and 
Portuguese,  and  was  the  confidential 
clerk  of  a  firm  of  shipping  exporters. 
His  salary  was  about  $1,600  per  year. 
He  left  a  wife  and  three  children. 

Advertisements  of ' '  Collier 's  Weekly ' ' 
recently  printed,  give  a  facsimile  letter 
of  ]Mr.  Charles  Dana  Gibson,  accepting 
the  offer  of  the  weekly  to  pay  him 
$100,000  for  one  hundred  double-page 
cartoons,  to  be  delivered  during  the  next 
four  years.  This  gives  Mr.  Gibson  an 
income  of  $25,000  per  year  for  this  work 
alone,  or  more  than  fifteen  times  as 
much  as  the  annual  income  of  INIr. 
Fajardo,  which  would  make  ]\Ir.  Gib- 
son's life  worth  over  $600,000.  :\Ir. 
Gibson  is  considerably  over  34  years 
of  age,  yet  who  shall  say  that  $600,000 
is  an  excessive  value  to  be  placed  on 
his  life?  A  single  picture  by  a  modern 
artist.  Sir  Alma-Tadema,  in  the  Henry 


G.  Marquand  collection,  sold  during  the 
month  of  January  last  in  this  city  for 
$30,300. 

Life  insurances  for  $100,000  on  a 
single  life  are  quite  common,  and  in- 
surances for  over  that  amoiTnt  are  not 
infrequent.  A  fair  way  to  ascertain 
what  amount  a  man  ought  to  insure  his 
life  for,  is  to  find  his  annual  earnings 
over  and  above  personal  expenses,  and 
then  ascertain  the  present  value  of  such 
a  sum  received  annually  for  the  average 
number  of  years  which  men  at  his  age 
have  yet  to  live.  For  example,  men 
aged  34  have  an  average  of  about  30 
years  yet  to  live,  and  the  present  value 
of  $1  per  annum  for  30  years  at  five  per 
cent,  interest  is  $15,372;  consequently 
such  a  life  should  be  insured  for  about 
$15,000. 

In  this  view  of  the  case  the  verdict 
referred  to  seems  excessive;  but  there 
are  two  other  things  to  be  taken  into 
consideration :  First,  the  man  may  have 
had  excellent  chances  for  advancement; 
and,  second,  it  would  not  be  good  public 
policy  to  assume  that  a  corporation  may 
go  free  by  simply  paying  the  pecuniary 
value  of  a  life  which  might  have  been 
saved  by  better  management. 


The  yearly  value  of  farm  products  in 
the  United  States  is  about  five  thousand 
million  dollars.  The  amount  of  Life 
Insurance  in  force  in  regular  companies 
in  the  United  States  is  over  eight  thou- 
sand millions.  If  the  crops  should  en- 
tirely fail  for  one  year  there  would  be 
a  famine;  but  the  people  who  have  in- 
sured their  lives  have  provided  for  the 
premature  failure  of  life,  in  an  amount 
sufficient  to  support  the  nation  for  about 
two  years. 

The  amount  of  coin,  bullion  and  paper 
money  in  the  United  States  Treasury 
at  the  close  of  the  last  fiscal  year,  de- 
ducting the  trust  funds  held  for  the 
redemption  of  an  equal  amount  of  notes 
of  various  kinds  outstanding,  was  $313,- 
900,000.  The  assets  of  the  New- York 
Life  Insurance  Company  at  the  close 
of  its  last  fiscal  year  were  $322,840,900. 
The  first  is  certified  to  by  the  Comp- 
troller of  the  Currency,  the  second  by 
the  Superintendent  of  the  New  York 
Insurance   Department. 


28 


lUhe  IMeuj-Uorh  3Meuus-Letter. 


THE  LITTLE  ONE  AT  THE  DOOR. 

A   baby   kisses   him   at   the   door, 

And  sweetly  says  good-bye — 
He  hurries  away  to  strive  all  day 

Where  the  money-maddened  vie. 
Time  was  when  he  showed  no  mercy  there, 

Men  viewed  him  with  dread  before, 
But  his  ways  have  changed  and  his  words 
are   fair, 

He  is  pitiless  no  more. 

All  day  through  the  city's  ceaseless  roar 

He  hears  a  happy  song 
That  a  little  one  sings  as  the  evening  brings 

The   twinkling  stars   along; 
There  is  love  deep  down  in  his  bosom,  where 

Greed  (mly  had  room  before. 
And  he  thinks  of  the  care  that  others  bear 

For  little  ones  at  the  door. 

— S.  E.  Kine).,  in  Cl,k<n)i)  Record- Herald. 


Most  Thorough  Supervision. 

THE  New-York  Life  Insurance 
Company  publishes  an  advertise- 
ment in  which  it  says  it  is  trying 
to  do  five  things,  one  of  which  is  ''To 
do  business  under  all  the  Insurance  De- 
part ni  mis  in  the  world."  Let  us  consider 
what  that  signifies: 

1.  AVhat  is  the  object  of  State  Super- 
vision of  Life  Insurance,  and  what 
means  does  it  use?  Clearly,  the  object 
of  it  is  the  protection  of  policy-holders. 
Life  insurance  companies  are  created  by 
the  State,  are  given  certain  powers 
which  they  are  allowed  to  exercise  only 
in  certain  ways.  The  State  unist  super- 
vise the  corporation  it  has  created — must 
see  that  it  conforms  to  the  law  of  its 
being. 

A  life  insurance  company  appeals  to 
the  public  for  patronage  in  a  peculiar 
way — it  asks  men  to  entrust  it  with  their 
savings,  and  promises  its  most  valuable 
benefit  in  case  of  their  premature  death. 
Whether  or  not  its  resources  are  at  any 
time  sufficient  to  cover  its  liabilities,  can 
only  be  ascertained  by  experts  who  have 
authority  to  examine  the  books.  This 
authority  and  this  service  are  secured 
by  State  supervision. 

2.  The  New- York  Life  reports  to  ev- 
ery Insurance  Department  in  the  world, 
and  there  is  no  law  for  the  protection 
of  policy-holders  with  which  it  does  not 
comply.  Some  of  the  most  stringent 
laws  and  regulations  are  those  of  foreign 
countries  and  foreign  insurance  bureaus. 


They  are  in  force  in  countries  in  which 
other  American  life  companies  do  not 
do  new  business,  and  it  is  no  secret  that 
some  such  companies  are  unwilling  to 
comply  with  these  laws  and  regulations. 
\Ve  will  name  some  of  them,  and  the 
reader  can  judge  for  himself  whether 
or  not  they  are  for  the  protection  of 
policy-holders. 

(1.)  One  is  that  the  company  shall 
not  invest  its  money  in  the  stocks  of 
private  corporations.  Stocks  are  nearly 
always  a  second  lien,  bonds  coming  first. 
The  income  and  the  market  value  of 
stocks  are  more  fluctuating,  and  the 
principal  is  less  secure,  than  in  the  case 
of  bonds  issued  by  the  same  corporation. 

(2.)  Another  is  that  the  company  will 
not  invest  in,  nor  lend  its  funds  on  the 
securities  of,  so-called  industrial  corpo- 
rations, nor  on  unproductive  property, 
nor  on  churches,  theatres  or  breweries. 

(3.)  Another  is  that  the  company  will 
not  use  for  expenses  in  any  year  more 
than  the  "loading"  available  for  ex- 
penses in  premiums  received. 

(4.)  Another  is  that  the  company  will 
set  aside  the  surplus  earned  each  year 
on  policies  according  to  classes,  and  will 
consider  the  surplus  so  set  aside  as  a 
liability  to  the  policies  until  it  becomes 
payable  by  their  terms. 

Are  these  measures  in  the  interest  of 
safety,  of  economy,  and  of  fair  dealing 
between  the  Company,  as  a  whole,  and 
its  individual  members,  or  not  ?  If  you 
were  going  to  insure  would  you  choose  a 
company  thus  managed,  or  one  that  de- 
clined to  limit  itself ^in  these  directions? 
Evidently  the  public  approves  New- 
York  Life  methods,  as  its  new  business 
is  the  largest  of  any  company.'s. 


SOME   OF  THE    REASONS 
For   the    New-York    Life's    Prosperity. 

ALL  of  the  reasons  why  the  New- York 
/-\  I^ife  writes  so  much  business  we  do 
■^  *•  not  know,  but  some  of  them  may 
be  guessed  at: 

Its  divided  councils  of  years  since  have 
given  place  to  a  oneness  of  effort  and  energy 
from,  the  executive  officers  to  the  veriest 
solicitor. 

It  operates  the  wide  world  over,  is  sub- 
jected to  the  severest  governmental  super- 


iThe  Kew-ljorh  I^leuus-Letter. 


29 


vision  (including  Germany's,  Russia's  and 
Switzerland's)  and  is  tlie  best  advertised 
Company  in  two  hemispheres. 

It  has  got  "next"  to  the  people  by  taking 
them  into  its  inner  chambers  and  inviting 
their  suggestions  and  criticisms. 

It  employs  thousands  of  agents,  develops 
many  new  agents,  enlists  many  helpers; 
Ivnows  them  by  their  front  names,  directs 
them  with  system,  keeps  them  always  at  it, 
and  makes  them  "feel  pleasant." 

It  issues  policies  remarkable  for  their 
simplicity  and  liberality,  and  proclaims 
those  policies  in  sundry  ways,  through  di- 
vers avenues. 

Whatever  the  reasons,  the  New- York  Life 
is  a  mighty  risk-getter,  and  knows  how  to 
hold  the  risks  it  gets. 

— Iiixunuun  Post. 


MORE    REASONS— BENEFITS    RECEIVED 
UNDER    ITS    POLICIES. 

A  Three  and  One-half  Per  Cent.   Investment 
Besides  the   Insurance   Protection. 

Woburn,  Mass.,  November  15,  1902. 

Mr.  Mortimer  Darby,  Agency  Director, 

New-l^ork   Life   Insurance    Company, 
Lowell,  Mass. 

Dear  Sir:  I  beg  to  acknowledge  with 
thanks  the  receipt  of  the  Company's  check 
for  $1,172.31,  being  the  amount  of  surplus 
under  my  Policy  No.  164,599. 

Upon  referring  to  the  various  modes  of 
settlement  allowed  under  this  policy,  I  find 
that  the  total  cash  value  of  my  policy  at  its 
maturity  was  $3,053.07,  and  if  I  had  selected 
this  option  I  would  have  received  $3,000 
insurance  for  the  term  of  20  years,  and  the 
full  amount  which  I  had  paid  in  during  that 
time,  together  with  3|/2  per  cent,  compound 
interest. 

Circumstances,  however,  made  it  advis- 
able for  me  to  accept  the  dividend,  $1,172.31, 
and  continue  my  policy  fully  paid  up  for  the 
remainder  of  my  natural  life. 

Such  being  the  case,  I  have  received  my 
insurance  of  $3,000  for  the  past  20  years, 
and  have  a  fully  paid-up  policy  for  the  re- 
mainder of  my  life  at  a  net  cost  of  $600.39. 

This  settlement  far  exceeds  my  expecta- 
tions, and  I  can  heartily  recommend  the 
New- York  Life  Insurance  Company  to  any 
prospective  purchaser  of  insurance,  for  its 
judicious  management  of  the  funds  placed 


in    its   care,   in    the    way   of   insurance   pre- 
miums. 

Allow  me  to  again  express  my  pleasure 
with  these  results  and  wish  you  hearty  suc- 
cess for  the  future.     I  remain. 

Yours  very  truly, 

E.  C.  COTTLE. 


A    Cash    Dividend    of   50       on    20-Payment 
Life    Premium. 

February   2,    1903. 

New-York   Life   Insurance  Company, 

346  Broadway,  New  York  City. 
Dear  Sirs:  I  acknowledge  with  pleasure 
the  receipt  of  your  check  drawn  for  $1,101.- 
23,  as  full  cash  settlement  of  Policy  No. 
167,725,  issued  on  my  life,  maturing  to-day. 
I  find  that  the  total  amount  of  premiums 
paid  has  been  $821.80,  leaving  a  net  profit 
on  this  transaction  of  $279.43.  When  it  is 
taken  into  consideration  that  during  these 
twenty  years,  my  life  has  been  insured  for 
$1,500,  and  that  if  I  had  died  during  the 
period,  your  Company  was  willing  to  pay 
that  amount  to  my  estate,  I  consider  the 
investment  makes  a  remarkably  fine  show- 
ing. I  endorse  most  heartily  your  method 
of  doing  business,  and  I  shall  deem  it  a 
favor  to  recommend  your  Company  to  any 
of  my  acquaintances. 

Yours  very  truly, 

LEONARD  BRONNER. 

In  lieu  of  the  cash  option  mentioned  above, 
the  Company  oi^ered  an  annuity  for  life  of 
$70.81,  or  a  cash  dividend  of  $417.23  and  a 
paid-up  participating  policy  for  $1,500. 


A   Cash    Dividend    of  65%    on    10-Payment 
Life    Premium. 

December    24,    1902. 

New-York  Life  Insurance  Company, 

New  York  City,  N.  Y. 

Gentlemen:  Your  favor  of  October  23 
was  duly  received  advising  me  as  to  the  set- 
tlements offered  on  my  twenty-year  Tontine 
Policy  No.  167,802,  in  your  Company.  I 
have  decided  to  avail  myself  of  option  "M" 
in  this  notice,  and  withdraw  the  total  value 
of  the  policy  in  cash,  $734.15. 

I  notice  that  the  cash  dividend  offered  me 
of  $278.15  is  over  sixty-five  per  cent,  of  the 
premiums  paid  by  me,  which  is  much  more 
than  I  expected.     It  is  partly  owing  to  this 


3° 


IChe  Keuj-yorh  I^eujs-Letter. 


fact  that  I  have  recently  increased  my  insur- 
ance with  your  Company  twenty  thousand 
dollars.  I  am  only  sorry  that  I  did  not  take, 
at  the  time  this  policy  was  taken  out,  one 
for  from  five  to  ten  thousand  dollars  instead, 
as  the  results  are  most  gratifying  to  me. 

Yours  very  truly, 

F.  L.  LARUE. 

In  lieu  of  the  cash  value  mentioned  above 
and  accepted,  the  Company  offered  the  cash 
dividend  referred  to  and  a  paid-up  partici- 
pating policy  for  $1,000,  or  an  annuity  for 
life  of  $47.21,  or  a  paid-up  non-participating 
policy  for  $1,660. 


A  Case  of  Partnership  Insurance. 

January  28.  1903. 
New- York  Life  Insurance  Company, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

Gentlemen:  I  am  in  receipt  to-day  of 
draft  No.  A38,163  for  $5,000,  in  settlement 
of  death-claim,  Policy  No.  3,284,797,  on  the 
life  of  Charles  C.  Carr,  my  partner,  through 
Mr.  R.  A.  Getty,  Jr.,  of  the  North  American 
Branch,  this  city. 

There  are  several  points  in  connection 
with  this  settlement  that  I  desire  to  espec- 
ially speak  of.  The  first  is  the  extremely 
prompt  settlement  of  the  claim.  Mr.  Carr 
died  January  20,  and  just  seven  days  later 
I  am  in  receipt  of  your  draft,  in  full  settle- 
ment. Second:  This  policy  was  taken  out, 
in  connection  with  one  on  my  own  life,  as 
partnership  insurance  last  May,  and  has, 
therefore,  been  in  force  about  eight  months. 
Mr.  Carr  was  found  to  be  in  perfect  health 
by  your  examining  physician;  he  died  of 
typhoid  fever  after  an  illness  of  about  three 
weeks. 

I  can  heartily  endorse  this  form  of  insur- 
ance as  issued  by  your  Company,  and  I  want 
to  extend  to  you  my  thorough  appreciation 
of  the  promptness  and  courtesy  shown  to 
me  in  the  settlement  of  this  claim. 
Very  truly  yours, 

CLINTON  V.  B.  GETTY. 


"That  Mrs.  Wadhams,  to  whom  you  intro- 
duced me  the  other  evening,  reminds  me 
very  much  of  a  portrait  by  Rembrandt." 

"Is  that  so?     Which  one?" 

"Oh  any  old  one.  They  all  look,  when 
you  get  close  to  them,  as  if  the  paint  had 
been  thrown  on  by  the  handful." 


Self  Insurance. 

IT  is  announced  that  three  .steamship 
lines  belonp-iny-  to  the  newly-formed 
International  ^Mercantile  ]\Iarine 
Company  have  discontinued  their  insur- 
ance at  Lloyds  in  London,  and  it  is  as- 
sumed that  all  the  lines  included  in  the 
company  will  do  the  same.  How  the 
company  intends  to  provide  for  losses 
is  not  known.  It  may  do  so  by  setting 
aside  every  year  the  premiums  it  would 
be  required  to  pay  for  insurance  and 
drawing  on  this  fund  to  replace  steam- 
ships lost,  or  it  may  replace  such  ships 
out  of  other  funds,  as  is  done  by  the  Pe- 
ninsular and  Oriental  Steamship  Com- 
pany. 

This  action  signifies  that  the  company 
has,  or  assumes  it  has,  so  many  steam- 
ships that  it  can  practically  go  into  the 
business  of  marine  insurance.  Marine 
insurance  is  almost  exclusively  a  matter 
of  distribution  of  losses;  if  these  losses 
can  be  distributed  over  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  ships,  that  is  all  a  marine  insur- 
ance company  can  do.  It  is  the  same 
with  fire  insurance.  If  a  man  owns  a 
thousand  houses  so  distributed  that  the 
burning  of  one  Avould  not  endanger  the 
others,  he  can  afit'ord  to  insure  his  own 
property. 

No  doubt  fire  and  marine  insurance 
companies  have  done  much  to  prevent 
fire  and  shipwreck,  but,  as  a  present 
proposition,  a  man  or  a  company  can 
insure  his  or  its  own  property  if  there  is 
enough  of  it,  and  it  is  so  situated  that 
an  average  risJi  can  be  obtained.  Upon 
these  questions  the  opinions  of  in.surance 
men,  based  upon  the  experience  of  in- 
surance companies,  would  be  the  only 
safe  guides,  but  the  material  and  con- 
ditions of  self  insurance  unquestionably 
exist  in  the  great  modern  corporation. 

The  bearing  of  this  upon  Life  Insur- 
ance is  first,  that  the  individual  can 
never  insure  his  own  life,  because  he  has 
but  one;  and  second,  the  best  thing  he 
can  do,  and  the  thing  he  should  do,  is 
to  insure  in  a  Purely  ^Mutual  Company, 
like  the  New- York  Life.  Here  are  about 
six  hundred  thousand  persons  who  in- 
sure themselves  under  seven  hundred 
thousand  contracts,  in  each  of  which  the 
cost  is  adjusted  to  the  risk  assumed  and 
the  benefit  promised. 


Che  Isfew-ljorh  I^ewe-Letter. 


31 


Life  Insurance  and  Civilization. 


w 


take  the  following  extracts  from 
an  address  delivered  before  the 
Peoria  Life  Underwriters  Asso- 
ciation by  Rev.  Henry  F.  Milligan,  of 
the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church,  as  re- 
ported by  the  "Chicago  Post": 

"Preachers  and  life  insurance  men 
have  much  in  common.  Both  are  seekers 
of  men;  both  work  in  the  main  for  the 
future;  both  appeal  to  the  highest  in- 
stincts of  any  race.  The  preacher  has 
large  opportunity  to  prove  the  benefit 
of  life  insurance;  he  goes  to  the  house 
bereaved  and  desolate,  and  sees  the  bless- 
ings which  a  life  insurance  policy  always 
brings.  There  is  not  an  intelligent,  ob- 
servant minister  in  all  this  land,  I  might 
say  in  all  the  world,  who  is  not  a  believer 
in  life  insurance.  The  fact  is,  life  in- 
surance is  a  practical  argument  for  the 
immortality  of  the  soul ;  it  enables  the 
dead  to  speak.  It  is  easy  to  make  a  liv- 
ing man  speak,  even  money  talks,  but 
to  make  the  dead  a  living  presence,  is  in- 
deed a  marvelous  power. 

"Life  insurance  is  only  on  the  thres- 
hold of  an  enormous  future.  Its  first 
waves  of  blessings  are  only  beginning  to 
touch  the  homes  and  lives  of  the  people. 
It  is  simply  impossible  at  this  time  to 
measure  or  even  approximate  what  its 
infiuence  will  be  in  the  coming  civiliza- 
tion. Liberty,  equality,  fraternity  were 
the  watchwords  of  the  French  revolu- 
tion; these  were  the  real  battering-rams 
which  broke  down  the  walls  of  the  Bas- 
tile.  As  life  insurance  becomes  more 
and  more  a  factor  in  the  life  of  our  na- 
tion, the  spirit  of  democracy  will  in- 
crease, the  perfect  quality  of  American 
citizens  will  be  assured:  no  aristocracy 
will  be  able  to  belittle  the  workingman. 
No  num  need  become  a  parasite  on  the 
republic  for  himself  or  his  family;  in- 
surance policies  are  the  modern  magna 
chartas  of  liberty  and  fraternity. 

"The  day  will  come  when  American 
citizens  will  demand  obligatory  insur- 
ance—I use  the  term  because  'compul- 
sory' sounds  too  harsh  for  American 
ears.  The  new  civilization,  the  pro- 
gressive manhood  of  the  future,  will  feel 
that  men  cannot  be  true  citizens,  or  even 
manly  men,  who  do  not  follow  out  the 
principles  which  the  great  captains  of 
life  insurance  have  laid  down." 


32 


Che  Neuj-yorh  Neois-Letter. 


! 


ROLAND   W.    DILLER. 

THE   NEW-YORK   LIFE'S  OLDEST   POLICY-HOLDER 
IN   SPRINGFIELD 

MR.  ROLAND  W.  DILLER,  whcse  por- 
trait is  given  above,  is  one  of  the 
oldest  residents  of  Springfield,  hav- 
ing settled  there  in  December.  1844.  He 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania  October  5.  1822, 
and  was  apprenticed  to  a  printer  at  the  age 
of  13.  On  his  arrival  in  Springfield  he  se- 
cured work  in  the  office  of  the  "Register." 
Later  he  was  a  surveyor  under  General  W. 
L.  D.  Ewing.  and  a  clerk  in  the  office  of 
Auditor  Thomas  H.  Campbell.  In  1849  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Chas.  S.  Corneau, 
and  purchased  a  drug  store,  which  was  car- 
ried on  by  the  firm  until  1860,  and  thereafter 
by  :Mr.  Diller  until  1898. 

This  drug  store  was  one  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
favorite  haunts,  where  politics  were  dis- 
cussed and  stories  told.  In  1898  Mr.  Diller 
turned  the  business  over  to  his  son,  Mr. 
Isaac  R.  Diller.  The  son  has  quite  recently 
given  it  up  and  has  become  an  agent  of  the 
New- York    Life. 


"Come  at  once,"  Speaker  Reed  telegraphed 
to  Congressman  Lansing  of  the  Watertown 
(N.  Y.)  district.  "Impossible,"  the  Con- 
gressman wired  back;  "washout  on  line.' 
Reeds  reply  to  this  was  promptly  wired, 
and  was  as  follows:  "Never  mind  little 
thing  like  that;  buy  another  shirt  and  come 
on."  —The  Hartford  Times. 


THE     PRAIRIE    STATE. 

ILLINOIS  has  an  area  of  58.354  square 
miles,  of  which  050  are  water.  The 
highest  elevation  above  tidewater  is 
1,140  feet — in  the  northwestern  portion — , 
the  lowest  is  342  feet — at  Cairo.  Except 
Louisiana  it  is  the  most  level  State  in  the 
Union.  It  has  about  4.100  miles  of  navigable 
waterways,  and  a  frontage  of  110  miles  on 
Lake  Michigan.  The  general  direction  of 
the  water-shed  is  to  the  southeast.  The 
principal  interior  river  is  the  Illinois,  which 
traverses  the  State  for  500  miles.  Other 
rivers  are  the  Rock,  the  Kaskaskia,  the 
Sangamon,  the  Fox,  the  Vermillion,  the 
Spoon,  the  Pecatonica,  the  Iroquois,  the 
Embarras  and  the  Little  Wabash. 

It  is — or  was — largely  a  prairie  State. 
Pioneers  had  few  forests  to  clear  away,  but 
found  a  fertile  soil  ready  to  their  hands. 
The  only  lack  was  of  timber  for  building 
purposes  and  for  fuel.  The  climate  varies 
from  sub-tropical  to  temperate,  with  a  mean 
average  temperature  of  50.65  degrees.  The 
average  rainfall  is  38.3  inches.  It  is  the  first 
State  in  the  Union  in  Agricultural  products 
and  in  transportation  facilities.  Ninety  per 
cent,  of  the  State  is  susceptible  of  cultiva- 
tion. The  principal  minerals  are  lead,  salt, 
lime,  coal  and  building  stone.  IlMnois  pro- 
duces 25,000.000  tons  of  coal  per  year,  a 
larger  output  than  that  of  any  other  State 
except  Pennsylvania.  It  is  estimated  that 
about  two-thirds  of  the  whole  surface  of 
the  State  is  underlaid  with  coal.  The 
corn  crop  of  Illinois  is  larger  than  that  of 
any  other  State  except  Iowa,  and  her  oat 
crop  is  the  largest  of  all.  Her  population 
in  1900  was  4,821,550,  the  largest  of  any 
State  except   New   York   and    Pennsylvania. 


An  important  party  measure  was  about 
to  be  voted  on  by  the  Fifty-First  Congress, 
and    the    Republicans    needed    every    vote. 


^Irs.  Wayback — "Such  a  man  as  you  don't 
deserve  to  have  a  wife." 

Mr.  Wayback — "Exactly,  M'ria.  I've  won- 
dered for  years  what  I  have  ever  done  to 
deserve  this."  —Leslie's  Weekly. 


lUhe  Ne^ju-york  Neujs-Iefter. 


(Continued  from  page  2  of  cover.) 

1858.— Joint  debate  on  the  slavery  ques- 
tion by  Lincoln  and  Douglas. 

18gl_ — Illinois  forces  occupy  Cairo;  21,000 
stand  of  arms  removed  from  St.  Louis  to 
Springfield;  U.  S.  Grant  tenders  his  services 
to  the  Federal  Government  and  to  Governor 
Yates;  they  are  accepted  by  the  latter.  The 
State  furnishes  (1861-1865)  197,364  men  for 
the  Civil  War. 

1865. — Burial  of  President  Lincoln  at 
Springfield    (May). 

1868. — Corner-stone  of  new  capitol  laid. 
University  of  Illinois  opened  at  Urbana. 

1871. — Fire  in  Chicago  burns  over  2,124 
acres;   loss  $200,000,000. 

1874. — Lincoln  monument  dedicated  at 
Oak  Ridge.  Springfield. 

1879.— Militia  law  passed  requiring  the 
enrollment  of  all  males,  and  the  arming  of 
8,000;  no  other  military  organization  to  pa- 
rade or  drill  without  a  license. 

1879. — Board  of  Fish  Commissioners  and 
Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  established. 

1886. — Haymarket  massacre  by  anarc'iists 
in  Chicago. 

1886. — Chicago  University  endowed  with 
$1,600,000  in  cash  by  John  D.  Rockefeller 
and  a  gift  of  land  by  Marshall  Field.  Mr. 
Rockefeller's  subsequent  gifts  aggregate 
about  six  million  dollars.  The  University 
opens  (in  1892)  with  about  500  students. 

1893. — World's  Columbian  Exposition  in 
Chicago. 

1894. — Railway  strikes  cause  riots  in  Chi- 
cago; 2,000  cars  destroyed;  Federal  troops 
sent  there  and  martial  law  declared  by 
President   Cleveland. 

1895. — Monument     to     Confederate     dead 
dedicated  at  Oakwood  Cemetery-.  Chicago. 
1895. — State  Board  of  Arbitration  created. 
1897. — Strike    of    coal    miners    affects    all 
mines  in  the  State. 

1898. — Chicago  daily  papers  suspend  (July 
25)  on  account  of  a  strike;  rioting  at  Virden 
and  Pana  (23  men  killed)  on  account  of 
coal  miners'  strike;  martial  law  declared  in 
disturbed  district. 

1899.— State  appropriates  $100,000  to  re- 
build Lincoln  Monument. 

1900. — Water  from  Lake  Michigan  turned 
into  Chicago  drainage  canal. 


Mother — "Tommy,  a  little  bird  tells  me 
that  you  helped  yourself  to  cake  while  I  was 
out."  Tommy  (aside) — ■Til  wring  that  par- 
rot's neck." 


LIFE    INSURANCE    ASPECTS. 

T  T  T  E  clip  the  following  paragraphs 
YV  i'rom  the  Toledo  (0.)  "Times." 
The  "Times,"  as  we  have  pre- 
viously had  occasion  to  notice,  takes  an 
intelligent  and  appreciative  interest  in 
the  progress  of  Life  Insurance : 

The  life  insurance  business  of  this  coun- 
try has  become  the  great  savings  bank  of 
the  provident  salaried  man.  Millions  of 
dollars  are  collected  annually  from  these 
sources,  the  contributors  wisely  realizing 
that  only  in  this  way  can  present  benefits 
enjoyed  by  them  and  their  families  be  con- 
tinued as  far  into  the  future  as  human 
foresight  can  go.  Fortunes  may  melt  away, 
positions  be  lost,  death  intervene,  but  the 
great  life  insurance  companies  have  ar- 
ranged to  co-operate  with  prudent  indi- 
viduals to  soften  the  rigors  of  material 
disaster,  no  matter  how  or  when  they  may 

fall. 

Many  of  the  most  successful  of  these 
companies  are  on  a  mutual  or  practically 
mutual  basis.  They  are  all  co-operative 
in  the  largest  sense,  and  they  present  per- 
haps the  best  example  to-day  of  the  wise 
blending  of  individual  energies  into  a  col- 
lective enterprise.  Life  insurance  business 
of  the  day  is  easily  the  best  and  purest 
materialization  of  the  socialist's  ideal.  The 
policy-holder  gives  up  his  individual  means 
to  soften  the  blows  of  adversity,  to  soothe 
and  sustain  the  declining  years  of  others, 
in  order  that  his  own  lot  and  that  of  those 
nearest  and  dearest  to  him  may  be  similarly 
safeguarded. 

Life  insurance  is  a  vast  scheme  of  con- 
tribution for  protection  and  distribution 
for  need.  The  companies  are  merely  trus- 
tees for  their  patrons.  The  more  insured 
there  are.  the  better  the  security.  An  ap- 
proximately perfect  social  order  will  super- 
vene when  every  man,  woman  and  child 
shall  have  as  little  concern  over  the  pro- 
curing of  the  means  of  living  as  the  birds 
of  the  air  and  the  beasts  of  the  field.  We 
have  enough  and  to  spare  for  thousands  of 
years  to  come  on  this  old  globe  of  ours  of 
food,  shelter  and  comfort,  if  each  of  us  is 
content  with  what  he  only  actually  needs. 
Universal  insurance  points  an  easy  way  for 
evolution  to  go  from  present  conditions  into 
this  ideal  state. 


iThe  ]\feuj-lJorh  JMeuus-Letter. 


HOME  Office,  New-York  life  Insurance  Company, 

346   &.   348    BROADWAY,    NEW    YORK. 


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